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CDC's April 2002 Report On Smoking: Estimates of Selected Health Consequences of Cigarette Smoking Were Reasonable (open access)

CDC's April 2002 Report On Smoking: Estimates of Selected Health Consequences of Cigarette Smoking Were Reasonable

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Despite a recent decline in the population that smokes, smoking is considered the leading cause of preventable death in this country. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 2 million deaths in the 5-year period from 1995 through 1999 were attributable to cigarette smoking. CDC, part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is a primary source of information on the health consequences of smoking tobacco. CDC reported its most recent estimates of selected health consequences of cigarette smoking in an April 2002 issue of its publication Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. CDC reported that, on average, over 440,000 deaths, 5.6 million years of potential life lost, $82 billion in mortality-related productivity losses, and $76 billion in medical expenditures were attributable to cigarette smoking each year from 1995 through 1999. CDC and others tasked with making such estimates face challenges. They build estimates on a set of assumptions and make choices about the data sources and methods used, each of which may have limitations that must be weighed against its advantages. Policymakers at both the state and federal levels have relied on …
Date: July 17, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Financial Statement Restatement Database (open access)

Financial Statement Restatement Database

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report is the release of the database of information collected during research for the report entitled Financial Statement Restatements: Trends, Market Impacts, Regulatory Responses, and Remaining Challenges."
Date: January 17, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Justice Department: Better Management Oversight and Internal Controls Needed to Ensure Accuracy of Terrorism-Related Statistics (open access)

Justice Department: Better Management Oversight and Internal Controls Needed to Ensure Accuracy of Terrorism-Related Statistics

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In accordance with the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993, the Department of Justice (DOJ) provides Congress and the public with an annual performance report. These reports serve as an important measure of DOJ's progress related to its strategic goals and objectives, including statistics on its Fiscal Year 2000 Performance Report. We were asked to review the accuracy of DOJ's terrorism-related conviction statistics. Among other objectives, in this report we (1) identify how DOJ develops its terrorism-related conviction statistics and (2) assess whether DOJ has sufficient management oversight and internal controls in place to ensure the accuracy of terrorism-related statistics included in its annual performance reports."
Date: January 17, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Immigration Benefits: Tenth Report Required by the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 (open access)

Immigration Benefits: Tenth Report Required by the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report responds to certain requirements of the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act (HRIFA) of 1998 that authorized certain Haitian nationals and their dependents to apply to adjust their status to legal permanent residence. Section 902(k) of the act requires the Comptroller General to report every 6 months on the number of Haitian nationals who have applied and been approved to adjust their status to legal permanent residence. The reports are to contain a breakdown of the number of Haitians who applied and the number who were approved as asylum applicants, parolees, children without parents, orphaned children, or abandoned children; or as the eligible dependents of these applicants, including spouses, children, and unmarried sons or daughters. Reports are to be provided until all applications have been finally adjudicated. This is our tenth report."
Date: October 17, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Aviation Assistance: Information on Payments Made Under the Disaster Relief and Insurance Reimbursement Programs (open access)

Aviation Assistance: Information on Payments Made Under the Disaster Relief and Insurance Reimbursement Programs

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."
Date: September 17, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Private Pensions: Timely and Accurate Information Is Needed to Identify and Track Frozen Defined Benefit Plans (open access)

Private Pensions: Timely and Accurate Information Is Needed to Identify and Track Frozen Defined Benefit Plans

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "While private-sector pensions help millions of Americans achieve retirement income security, the number of private defined benefit (DB) plans1 has declined substantially over the past two decades. Recently, those concerned with the viability of the private defined benefit pension system point to significant increases in pension contributions plan sponsors must make and to the fact that most plans are currently underfunded. The underfunding of plans, due in large part to the sharp decline in the stock market combined with a general decline in interest rates, has increased substantially. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), whose single-employer insurance program insures the benefits of over 34 million workers and retirees in private defined benefit plans, estimated that the total underfunding exceeded $350 billion as of September 4, 2003. According to employer groups, plan sponsors face inflated and unpredictable pension contributions that have greatly diminished the attractiveness of maintaining DB plans. As a result, employer groups have suggested that plan sponsors may consider freezing their plans rather than confronting the possibility of increased pension contributions. A plan "freeze" could have adverse consequences for the retirement income security of participants because new …
Date: December 17, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Senate Office of Public Records Revolving Fund (open access)

Senate Office of Public Records Revolving Fund

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO performed the procedures requested by the Secretary of the Senate to assist in determining whether the Senate Office of Public Records revolving fund's reported fiscal year 2001 through 2002 receipts and disbursements and fund balances at the beginning and the end of the review period are complete and accurate. The procedures included reviewing documentation supporting the the Senate Office of Public Records revolving fund's recorded receipt and disbursement transactions for evidence that the transactions were properly authorized, recorded, and reported on the Senate Disbursing Office's monthly Statement of Funding Authorization and Expense Activity reports. In addition, we reviewed the fund balance at the beginning and end of the fiscal years under review. As a result of performing agreed-upon procedures, we identified on instance in which a cash disbursement was not forwarded to the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration prior to payment. This occurred during the displacement of staff from Senate Disbursing Office as a result of the anthrax incident in the fall of 2001. Additionally, we found that the beginning and ending fund balances for fiscal years 2001 and 2002 recorded in the Senate Disbursing Office's …
Date: October 17, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Department of State (State) and United Nations relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Actions to Implement Section 301(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (open access)

Department of State (State) and United Nations relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Actions to Implement Section 301(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Established in 1949 by the United Nations, UNRWA provides assistance to Palestinian refugees in the Middle East. UNRWA assistance is primarily education, health, and relief and social services. More than 4 million Palestinian refugees are eligible to receive these services in UNRWA's five areas of operation--Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank, and Gaza. In section 301(c) of the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act (PL 87-195) as amended, Congress has directed that "No contributions by the United States shall be made to (UNRWA) except on the condition that (UNRWA) take all possible measures to assure that no part of the United States contribution shall be used to furnish assistance to any refugee who is receiving military training as a member of the so-called Palestine Liberation Army or any other guerrilla type organization or who has engaged in any act of terrorism." To fulfill a legislative mandate, we are reporting on State Department actions and UNRWA's implementation of procedures to address section 301(c)."
Date: November 17, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Community and Economic Development Loans: Securitization Faces Significant Barriers (open access)

Community and Economic Development Loans: Securitization Faces Significant Barriers

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Community economic development (CED) lenders serve the credit needs of nonconventional borrowers and economically distressed areas across the nation. However, little is known about this industry, its ability to tap private sources of capital, and loan performance and volume in the industry. To provide information that would be helpful in considering the role that the federal government might play in facilitating the creation of a secondary market for CED loans, GAO was asked among other items to (1) determine the barriers to more widely securitizing CED loans and (2) identify options for overcoming these barriers and the likely implications of these options."
Date: October 17, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Decennial Census: Methods for Collecting and Reporting Data on the Homeless and Others without Conventional Housing Need Refinement (open access)

Decennial Census: Methods for Collecting and Reporting Data on the Homeless and Others without Conventional Housing Need Refinement

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Bureau of the Census partnered with local governments, advocacy groups, and other organizations to help it enumerate people without conventional housing. Counting this population--which includes shelter residents and the homeless--has been a longstanding challenge for the Bureau. A number of organizations put substantial resources into an operation the Bureau called Service-Based Enumeration. In return, some expected the Bureau to provide data that would help them plan and deliver employment, health, and other services. However, the Bureau did not release the data as planned, which raised questions about the Bureau's decision-making on data quality issues. In response to a congressional request, GAO examined the Bureau's decision-making process behind its change in plans."
Date: January 17, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Electronic Rulemaking: Efforts to Facilitate Public Participation Can Be Improved (open access)

Electronic Rulemaking: Efforts to Facilitate Public Participation Can Be Improved

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Information technology can greatly facilitate the public's ability to comment on proposed rules that affect them. The E-Government Act of 2002 made the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) responsible for overseeing electronic government initiatives. We examined the extent to which agency-specific Web sites and the new governmentwide Regulations.gov Web site permit the public to electronically (1) identify proposed rules that are open for comment, (2) comment on proposed rules, and (3) access regulatory supporting materials (e.g., economic analyses) and the comments of others."
Date: September 17, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Medicare Provider Enrollment: Opportunities to Enhance Program Integrity Efforts (open access)

Medicare Provider Enrollment: Opportunities to Enhance Program Integrity Efforts

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Staffing companies that contract with physicians to staff hospital departments--including emergency departments--are not permitted to bill Medicare. In the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000, Congress directed GAO to assess the program integrity implications of enrolling these companies and allowing them to bill Medicare. GAO reviewed about 2.8 million emergency department claims for 2000 from five states and assessed whether contractor physicians retained by staffing companies billed Medicare comparably to other emergency department physicians. GAO also evaluated how the lack of information on staffing companies affects efforts to assure Medicare program integrity."
Date: March 17, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Establishing the Leakage Rates of Mobile Air Conditioners (open access)

Establishing the Leakage Rates of Mobile Air Conditioners

The purpose of the study is to - based on field measurements - determine the average annual leakage rate of HFC-134a from MACs in the European Union of a "second generation"1 air conditioner. From November 2002, to January 2003 300 measurements of HFC-134a leakage were carried out on air conditioners of cars up to seven years age. The measurements were carried out on vehicles of all EU relevant makes at 19 garages in Germany (Osnabrück), Portugal (Rio Maior) and Sweden (Helsingborg) reflecting different climatic conditions.
Date: April 17, 2003
Creator: Schwarz, Winfried & Harnisch, Jochen
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Commercial Aviation: Factors Affecting Efforts to Improve Air Service at Small Community Airports (open access)

Commercial Aviation: Factors Affecting Efforts to Improve Air Service at Small Community Airports

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The airline industry, facing unprecedented financial losses as a result of the economic downturn and the terrorist attacks, has taken steps to minimize losses, including reducing or eliminating service to some small communities. In March 2002, GAO reported that small communities had almost 20 percent fewer departures in October 2001, as compared to October 2000. GAO was asked to follow up on that work by examining the challenges small communities face in attracting and keeping the air service they desire and what steps they have taken to overcome these challenges."
Date: January 17, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Contract Management: Postal Service's National Office Supply Contract Has Not Been Effectively Implemented (open access)

Contract Management: Postal Service's National Office Supply Contract Has Not Been Effectively Implemented

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Over the past 2 years, the Postal Service has experienced growing financial difficulties. In an effort to transform the organization to reduce costs and increase productivity, the Postal Service awarded a national-level office supply contract to Boise Corporation. In addition, the Postal Service required Boise to submit a subcontracting plan, which outlines how small, minority-, and woman-owned businesses will be reached through the contract. GAO was asked to assess the status of the Postal Service's implementation of the Boise contract and Boise's achievement of its subcontracting plan. GAO also reviewed the extent to which the Postal Service is buying office supplies directly from small, minority-, and woman-owned businesses."
Date: January 17, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Elderly Housing: Project Funding and Other Factors Delay Assistance to Needy Households (open access)

Elderly Housing: Project Funding and Other Factors Delay Assistance to Needy Households

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In 2001, an estimated 2 million elderly households with very low incomes (50 percent or less of area median income) did not receive housing assistance. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) considered most of these households to be "rent burdened" because they spent more than 30 percent of their incomes on rent. The Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Program provides capital advances (grants) to nonprofit organizations to develop affordable rental housing exclusively for these households. Based on a report issued in May 2003, this testimony discusses the role of the Section 202 program in addressing the need for affordable elderly housing and factors affecting the timeliness of approving and constructing new projects."
Date: June 17, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice: Several Factors Influence the Placement of Children Solely to Obtain Mental Health Services (open access)

Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice: Several Factors Influence the Placement of Children Solely to Obtain Mental Health Services

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Recent news articles in over 30 states and prominent mental health advocacy organizations have described the difficulty many parents have in accessing mental health services for their children. As these reports documented, some parents choose to place their children in the child welfare or juvenile justice systems in order to obtain the mental health services that their children need. Senators Susan Collins and Joseph Lieberman of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs asked GAO to testify on: (1) the number and characteristics of children voluntarily placed in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems to receive mental health services, (2) the factors that influence such placements, and (3) promising state and local practices that may reduce the need for child welfare and juvenile justice placements. This testimony is based on our April 2003 report on the results of a study addressing these same objectives. For that report, we surveyed state child welfare directors in all states and the District of Columbia and juvenile justice officials in 33 counties in the 17 states with the largest populations of children under age 18. We surveyed juvenile justice officials at the …
Date: July 17, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Architect of the Capitol: Management and Accountability Framework Needed for Organizational Transformation (open access)

Architect of the Capitol: Management and Accountability Framework Needed for Organizational Transformation

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Office of the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) plays an important role in supporting the effective functioning of the Congress and its neighboring institutions. With a budget of $426 million, AOC is responsible for the maintenance, renovation, and new construction of all buildings and grounds within the Capitol Hill complex. GAO was mandated by the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2002, to conduct a comprehensive management review of AOC's operations to help identify improvements in strategic planning, organizational alignment, and strategic human capital management to help AOC better achieve its mission and to address long-standing program issues. To address these objectives, GAO reviewed AOC's legislative authority and internal documents, interviewed key AOC officials and senior managers, and conducted employee focus groups."
Date: January 17, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Microenterprise Development: USAID's Program Has Met Some Goals; Annual Reporting Has Limitations (open access)

Microenterprise Development: USAID's Program Has Met Some Goals; Annual Reporting Has Limitations

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Microenterprises--small businesses owned and operated by poor entrepreneurs--have potential to help the world's poorer populations. For this reason, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) included microenterprise development in its programming. In 2001, the agency reported that its was conducting microenterprise projects in 52 countries and had obligated almost $2 billion since 1988 to support its program. The program supports micro loans, among other services, to assist poor entrepreneurs. Since 1996, USAID has annually reported the program's results. To help Congress oversee USAID's management of its microenterprise development program, GAO was asked to (1) determine the extent to which the agency's microfinance activities are meeting the program's key objectives, (2) assess the reliability of USAID's reporting on its overall microenterprise activities, and (3) examine the agency's role in identifying and disseminating microenterprise best practices."
Date: November 17, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Military Operations: Fiscal Year 2003 Obligations Are Substantial, but May Result in Less Obligations Than Expected (open access)

Military Operations: Fiscal Year 2003 Obligations Are Substantial, but May Result in Less Obligations Than Expected

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Global War on Terrorism (GWOT)--principally involving operations in Afghanistan and Iraq--is being funded in fiscal year 2003 by Congress's appropriation of almost $69 billion, including almost $16 billion in a transfer fund called the Iraqi Freedom Fund. To assist Congress in its oversight of funding for GWOT, GAO examined the obligation of GWOT funds and the implications for additional funding in fiscal year 2003 and the President's request for fiscal year 2004 funds for several operations in Southwest Asia that were canceled after the budget was submitted."
Date: September 17, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Results-Oriented Government: Shaping the Government to Meet 21st Century Challenges (open access)

Results-Oriented Government: Shaping the Government to Meet 21st Century Challenges

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO has sought to assist the Congress and the executive branch in considering the actions needed to support the transition to a more high-performing, results-oriented, and accountable federal government. GAO provided perspectives on the federal government's overall structure and the need for reorganization to improve performance."
Date: September 17, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Transportation Security Administration: Actions and Plans to Build a Results-Oriented Culture (open access)

Transportation Security Administration: Actions and Plans to Build a Results-Oriented Culture

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Never has a results-oriented focus been more critical than today, when the security of America's citizens depends on the outcomes of many federal programs. In response to the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Congress passed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA) that created the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and made it responsible for transportation security. ATSA requires TSA to implement specific practices that are intended to make it a results-oriented organization."
Date: January 17, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nursing Homes: Prevalence of Serious Quality Problems Remains Unacceptably High, Despite Some Decline (open access)

Nursing Homes: Prevalence of Serious Quality Problems Remains Unacceptably High, Despite Some Decline

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1998, the Congress and Administration have focused considerable attention on improving the quality of care in the nation's nursing homes, which provide care for about 1.7 million elderly and disabled residents in about 17,000 homes. GAO has earlier reported on serious weaknesses in processes for conducting routine state inspections (surveys) of nursing homes and complaint investigations, ensuring that homes with identified deficiencies correct the problems without recurrence, and providing consistent federal oversight of state survey activities to ensure that nursing homes comply with federal quality standards. GAO was asked to update its work on these issues and to testify on its findings, as reported in Nursing Home Quality: Prevalence of Serious Problems, While Declining, Reinforces Importance of Enhanced Oversight, GAO-03-561 (July 15, 2003). In commenting on this report, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) generally concurred with the recommendations to address survey and oversight weaknesses. In this testimony, GAO addresses (1) the prevalence of serious nursing home quality problems nationwide, (2) factors contributing to continuing weaknesses in states' survey, complaint, and enforcement activities, and (3) the status of key federal efforts to oversee state survey …
Date: July 17, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Information Technology: Leadership Remains Key to Agencies Making Progress on Enterprise Architecture Efforts (open access)

Information Technology: Leadership Remains Key to Agencies Making Progress on Enterprise Architecture Efforts

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "A well-defined enterprise architecture (EA) is a blueprint for institutional modernization and evolution that consists of models describing how an entity operates today and how it intends to operate in the future, along with a plan for how it intends to transition to this future state. Such architectures are essential tools whose effective development and use are recognized hallmarks of successful organizations. Because of the importance of these architectures, GAO was asked to determine (1) what progress federal agencies have made in effectively developing, implementing, and maintaining their EAs and (2) the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) actions to advance the state of EA development and use across the federal government."
Date: November 17, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library