Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Representative Edolphus Towns requested information on several issues related to the use of toy guns. Specifically, he asked that GAO (1) examine crime statistics showing the prevalence of crimes that involved toy guns in some capacity; (2) gather any available information on incidents involving toy guns that have resulted in injuries or deaths, whether or not related to criminal activity; and (3) determine from available literature whether there are any studies examining the long-term impacts that can be attributed to toy gun play by children."

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."

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."

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."

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."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Biennially, the Judicial Conference, the federal judiciary's principal policymaking body, assesses the judiciary's needs for additional judgeships. If the Conference determines that additional judgeships are needed, it transmits a request to Congress identifying the number, type (courts of appeals, district, or bankruptcy), and location of the judgeships it is requesting. In 2003, the Judicial Conference sent to Congress requests for 93 new judgeships--11 for the courts of appeals, 46 for the district courts, and 36 for the bankruptcy courts. In assessing the need for additional judgeships, the Judicial Conference considers a variety of information, including responses to its biennial survey of individual courts, temporary increases or decreases in case filings, and other factors specific to an individual court. However, the Judicial Conference's analysis begins with the courts of appeals--weighted case filings and adjusted case filings, respectively. These two measures recognize, to different degrees, that the time demands on judges are largely a function of both the number and complexity of the cases on their dockets. Some types of cases may demand relatively little time and others may require many hours of work. Generally, each case filed in a …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Strategic workforce planning helps ensure that agencies have the right people with the right skills in the right positions to carry out the agency mission both in the present and future. The Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Taxpayer Education and Communication (TEC) unit within its Small Business and Self- Employed Division assists some 45 million small business and self-employed taxpayers. Given the number of taxpayers it is to assist and changes in its priorities and strategies, GAO was asked to determine whether TEC has a workforce plan that conforms to critical elements for what should be in a plan and how it should be developed and implemented."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The largest accounting firms, known as the "Big 4," currently audit over 78 percent of U.S. public companies and 99 percent of public company annual sales. To address concerns raised by this concentration and as mandated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, on July 30, 2003, GAO issued a report entitled Public Accounting Firms: Mandated Study on Consolidation and Competition, GAO-03-864. As part of that study, GAO surveyed a random sample of 250 public companies from the Fortune 1000 list; preliminary findings were included in the July report. This supplemental report details more comprehensively the 159 responses we received through August 11, 2003, focusing on (1) the relationship of their company with their auditor of record in terms of satisfaction, tenure relationship, and services provided; (2) the effects of consolidation on audit fees, quality, and independence; and (3) the potential implications of consolidation for competition and auditor choice."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In May 2003, the Bush Administration proposed amending the legislation that currently restricts foreign ownership of U.S. airlines, raising the allowable percentage of total foreign ownership of voting stock in U.S. airlines from 25 to 49 percent. The Department of Transportation (DOT) suggested that implementing this amendment could provide significant benefits to U.S. consumers and airlines, particularly by providing access to additional capital, which would help the financial health of the industry. DOT and the Department of State also maintain that these new limitations would bring the United States in line with current foreign ownership laws of the European Union (EU). Concerned about the effect that changes in foreign ownership and control requirements might have on the aviation industry, national interests, and consumers--and recognizing that we examined this issue in 1992 when DOT earlier proposed increasing the level of foreign ownership--the Subcommittee on Aviation, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation asked us to discuss two related topics: (1) current proposals to revise U.S. limits on foreign ownership and control, including information on current shareholders and past examples of efforts by foreign interests to purchase significant equity in …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) spent about $23 billion to provide health care to over 4 million veterans in fiscal year 2002. To provide this care, VA relied primarily on its own employees, totaling about 190,000. VA also used contract employees, sometimes referred to as contract labor, to provide these services. In response to the requirements of the Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act of 1998 (the FAIR Act), VA compiled an inventory of more than 180,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions that it determined to be "health care commercial" in nature. This means that the work carried out in these positions is also done in the private sector and could potentially be done by contract labor. As part of its management initiatives, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has emphasized that competition should be used to determine the most effective and efficient way to provide commercial services. The process used to make this determination--referred to as competitive sourcing--is established in OMB Circular A-76. This process generally provides for competition between the government and the private sector on the basis of costs or costs and other factors. OMB …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Following the shutdown of a nuclear power plant a significant radioactive waste hazard remains until the waste is removed and the plant site decommissioned. In 1999, GAO reported that the combined value of the owners' decommissioning funds was insufficient to ensure enough funds would be available for decommissioning. GAO was asked to update its 1999 report and to evaluate the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) analysis of the owners' funds and its process for acting on reports that show insufficient funds."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The electromagnetic radio frequency spectrum is critical to the development and operation of a variety of military systems such as radios, radars, and satellites. Due to the changing nature of warfighting, more and more military systems depend on the spectrum to guide precision weapons and obtain information superiority. In recent years, demand for the spectrum increased with advances in commercial technology. This demand has led to competition between government and nongovernment users, making spectrum management vital to prevent harmful interference and to promote spectrum efficiency. With these goals in mind, the Department of Defense (DOD) has long-standing policies and procedures that require system developers and acquirers to consider and deal with spectrum supportability knowledge early in the development and acquisition of systems. Early assessment of spectrum needs provides DOD the opportunity to identify, and therefore, better manage program and operational risks. DOD policy requires developers of spectrum dependent systems to obtain certification before assumption of contractual obligations for the full-scale development, production or procurement of those systems. Senate Report 107-151 and House Report 106-945 required us to assess DOD's spectrum management process. We focused our assessment on (1) …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Humanitarian and economic development assistance has long been an important component of U.S. global security strategy. Since 1962, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has managed more than $273 billion in such assistance. In fiscal year 2003, USAID estimates that it will obligate about $13 billion for assistance programs in almost 160 countries. In recent years, demands on USAID's budget and workforce have increased as the agency strives to meet emerging requirements, such as reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq and increased funding for health programs. However, USAID officials have expressed concern that funds provided for its administrative or operating expenses have not kept pace with the agency's requirements. Since 1976, Congress has included a separate appropriation to consolidate USAID's operating expenses into a single budget item. Congress intended that USAID pay for the administrative costs of delivering foreign assistance (its "cost of doing business") from an operating expense account separate from its humanitarian and development assistance program funds. These operating expenses are costs incurred primarily for the benefit of the United States rather than the foreign assistance recipient. In accordance with congressional guidance, USAID reports all …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Reliable information is critical to informed decision making and to oversight of the procurement system. The Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) has been the federal government's central database of information on federal procurement actions since 1978. Congress and executive branch agencies rely on FPDS to assess the impact that governmentwide acquisition policies and processes are having on the system generally, as well as with respect to specific geographical areas, markets, and socio-economic goals. Yet despite the importance of the data, we continue to find that FPDS data are inaccurate and incomplete. Although we have not fully assessed the extent of reporting errors, we have found sufficient problems to warrant concern about the current reliability of FPDS information."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Millions of Americans are unable to provide their own transportation--or even use public transportation--for Medicaid appointments, Head Start classes, job training, or other services. Such "transportation disadvantaged" persons are often disabled, elderly, or low income. Various federal programs are authorized to provide transportation services to them. GAO was asked to (1) identify the federal programs that fund such transportation services and the amount spent on them, (2) assess the extent of coordination among the various programs, and (3) identify any obstacles to coordination and potential ways to overcome such obstacles."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Earned Income Credit (EIC), a tax credit available to the working poor, has experienced high rates of noncompliance. Unlike many benefit programs, EIC recipients generally receive payments without advance, formal determinations of eligibility; the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) checks some taxpayers' eligibility later. IRS estimated that tax year 1999 EIC overclaim rates, the most recent data available, to be between 27 and 32 percent of dollars claimed or between $8.5 billion and $9.9 billion. To address overclaims, IRS plans to test a new certification program. Because IRS's plans have garnered much attention, Congress asked us to (1) describe the design and basis for the EIC qualifying child certification program, (2) describe the current status of the program, including significant changes, and (3) assess whether the program is adequately developed to prevent unreasonable burden on EIC taxpayers and improve compliance so that the test should proceed."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The United Nations (U.N.) estimates that its planned renovation of the seven buildings on the Headquarters complex could cost almost $1.2 billion. As the host country and the largest contributor to the United Nations, the United States has a significant interest in this project. This report (1) assesses the reasonableness of the U.N. process to develop the renovation plans, (2) analyzes the potential cost to the United States, (3) identifies critical milestones before construction can begin, and (4) discusses efforts to monitor and oversee the project."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The October 2001 anthrax attacks, the recent outbreak of the virulent Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and increased awareness that terrorist groups may be capable of releasing life-threatening biological agents have prompted efforts to improve our nation's preparedness for, and response to, public health emergencies--including bioterrorism. GAO was asked, among other things, to identify federal agencies information technology (IT) initiatives to support our nation's readiness to deal with bioterrorism. Specifically, we compiled an inventory of such activities, determined the range of these coordination activities with other agencies, and identified the use of health care standards in these efforts."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) is developing a new unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) that can suppress enemy air defenses and conduct other air-to-ground attacks, particularly against heavily defended targets. Because it may perform these missions at a relatively low cost, the UCAV could be used to replace some of DOD's aging tactical aircraft fleet. A key to UCAV's success will lie in DOD's ability to match users' needs, or requirements, with the developer's resources (technology and design knowledge, money, and time) when product development begins. Our work shows that doing so can prevent rework and save both time and money. Therefore, we assessed DOD's ability to make this match. GAO conducted its work on the basis of the Comptroller General's authority and addresses the report to the Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces, House Committee on Armed Services because of its interest and jurisdiction in the program."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The ability to produce the data needed to efficiently and effectively manage the day-to-day operations of the federal government and provide accountability to taxpayers has been a long-standing challenge to most federal agencies. To help address this challenge, the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 (FFMIA) requires the 24 Chief Financial Officers Act agencies to implement and maintain financial management systems that comply substantially with (1) federal financial management systems requirements, (2) federal accounting standards, and (3) the U.S. Government Standard General Ledger (SGL). FFMIA also requires GAO to report annually on the implementation of the act."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Consumers of insurance depend on state regulators to ensure that insurance companies are behaving fairly and in accordance with the law. This report evaluates the states' use of market analysis (information gathering to determine issues and identify companies that may need attention) and on-site examinations in market regulation and the progress the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has made in creating more uniformity in the regulation of market conduct."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Aviation experts believe that building runways is one key way to address airport capacity issues and prevent delays that can affect the entire U.S. economy, but runway projects are often controversial and time-consuming. GAO was asked to examine how much time airports spend completing runways, what challenges airports and other stakeholders experience during this process, and what airports and other stakeholders have done to address challenges related to runway projects. GAO analyzed the results of surveys from 30 airports on 32 runway projects and visited 5 airports in order to interview numerous runway project stakeholders. The Department of Transportation agreed with GAO's characterization of the challenges associated with building runways and some of the initiatives taken to address these challenges. They did express some concerns related to GAO's analysis of the time airports spent or estimated spending in developing runways, and suggested that GAO acknowledge additional FAA efforts to improve the runway process. We believe that our approach was a reasonable assessment of the amount of time taken to build runways; however, we clarified our discussion about the length of time. We also added information regarding …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1994, the Agriculture Appropriations Act has prohibited the funding of tobacco export programs and restricted the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) tobacco-related activities. Since 1998, the Commerce, Justice, and State Appropriations Act has placed similar restrictions on the Departments of Commerce and State and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), although it has not prohibited them from addressing foreign discriminatory trade practices. Congressional requesters asked GAO to (1) assess the agencies' guidance on the restrictions to their overseas personnel, (2) describe how the agencies' activities changed in response to the restrictions, and (3) identify the mechanisms that the agencies use to monitor compliance."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "SARS is a highly contagious respiratory disease that infected more than 8,000 individuals in 29 countries principally throughout Asia, Europe, and North America and led to more than 800 deaths as of July 11, 2003. Due to the speed and volume of international travel and trade, emerging infectious diseases such as SARS are difficult to contain within geographic borders, placing numerous countries and regions at risk with a single outbreak. While SARS did not infect large numbers of individuals in the United States, the possibility that it may reemerge raises concerns about the ability of public health officials and health care workers to prevent the spread of the disease in the United States. GAO was asked to assist the Subcommittee in identifying ways in which the United States can prepare for the possibility of another SARS outbreak. Specifically, GAO was asked to determine 1) infectious disease control measures practiced within health care and community settings that helped contain the spread of SARS and 2) the initiatives and challenges in preparing for a possible SARS resurgence."