Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO, answering a request from the House Committee on Ways and Means, compiled information concerning amounts charged by the White House for Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) events attended by President George W. Bush and charged to any department within HHS."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO was asked to identify the core financial systems used at each of the CFO Act agencies as of September 30, 2002, and the status of any agency plans to update core financial systems. Core financial systems, as defined by the Joint Financial Management Improvement Program, include managing general ledger, funding, payments, receivables, and certain basic cost functions. The core financial systems receive data from other financial and feeder systems, such as acquisition, grant, and personnel systems, as well as from direct user input, and provide data for financial performance measurement and analysis and for financial statement preparation."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The L. Mendel Rivers Financial building (Rivers Building) in Charleston, South Carolina, has been vacant since it sustained damage in 1999 from Hurricane Floyd. For several years, the General Services Administration (GSA) has been working with the City of Charleston to negotiate an exchange of the Rivers Building and its site for land and a building to be constructed by the City. This report responds to a Congressional request for information on the progress of GSA's efforts to exchange the Rivers Building with the City of Charleston."

Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This publication has been superseded by GAO-07-162G, Government Auditing Standards: January 2007 Revision. This is the Government Auditing Standards 2003 revision. This document outlines standards that contain requirements for auditor reporting on internal control. The revision supersedes the 1994 revision."

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."

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 "Prior to 2001, military retirees who turned age 65 and became eligible for Medicare lost most of their Department of Defense (DOD) health benefits. The DOD-Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) demonstration was one of several demonstrations established to examine alternatives for addressing retirees' lack of Medicare supplemental coverage. The demonstration was mandated by the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 (NDAA 1999), which also required GAO to evaluate the demonstration. GAO assessed enrollment in the demonstration and the premiums set by demonstration plans. To do this, GAO, in collaboration with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and DOD, conducted a survey of enrollees and eligible nonenrollees. GAO also examined DOD enrollment data, Medicare and OPM claims data, and OPM premiums data."

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 "The cost of a ship's crew is the single largest incurred over the ship's life cycle. One way to lower personnel costs, and thus the cost of ownership, is to use people only when it is cost-effective--a determination made with a systems engineering approach called human systems integration. GAO was asked to evaluate the Navy's progress in optimizing the crew size in four ships being developed and acquired: the DD(X) destroyer, T-AKE cargo ship, JCC(X) command ship, and LHA(R) amphibious assault ship. GAO assessed (1) the Navy's use of human systems integration principles and goals for reducing crew size, and (2) the factors that may impede the Navy's use of those principles."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In September and October 2001, the first cases of anthrax bioterrorism occurred in the United States when letters containing anthrax were mailed to congressional leaders and members of the news media. As the cleanup of the Capitol Hill anthrax site progressed, EPA's estimates of the cleanup costs steadily rose. GAO was asked to describe (1) the costs EPA incurred to conduct the cleanup and how it was funded, (2) the extent to which EPA awarded the cleanup contracts competitively, (3) EPA's oversight of the contractors' work and any suggested changes to EPA's contracting practices, and (4) the extent to which EPA agreed to indemnify contractors against liability for potential damages related to the cleanup."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Under the Transportation Equity Act for the 21 st Century (TEA-21), Congress authorized federal funding for New Starts fixed guideway transit projects--including rail and bus rapid transit projects that met certain criteria. In response to an annual mandate under TEA-21, GAO assessed the New Starts evaluation and ratings process for the fiscal year 2004 cycle, including (1) changes to the process and any related issues and (2) any challenges related to New Starts initiatives contained in the administration's fiscal year 2004 budget proposal."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Prior reports and studies have identified major risks in the Department of Defense's (DOD) management, funding, and reporting of spare parts spending programs. Spare parts shortages adversely affect the U.S. Army's operations and can compromise the readiness of weapon systems. To address these issues, Congress has fully funded DOD's requests for spare parts spending and in some instances increased funding for additional spare parts. Yet, the Army continues to experience spare parts shortages. Congress requested that GAO evaluate (1) the Army's strategic plans for reducing spare parts shortages, (2) the likelihood that key initiatives will reduce such shortages, and (3) the Army's capability to identify the impact on readiness of increased investments for spare parts."

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."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) accomplishments in the 5 years since the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 was past. Specifically, GAO determined (1) how much money IRS has spent on upgrading its security, (2) whether the challenges associated with ensuring information security are technological or managerial, and (3) if IRS is taking sufficient steps to eliminate overpayments to the Earned Income Credit (EIC)."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the American National Theater and Academy, for the fiscal years 2001 and 2000. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit report included the auditors' opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the Boy Scouts of America for fiscal year 2001. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit reports included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles."

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 …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the American Gold Star Mothers, Incorporated, for the fiscal years 2002 and 2001. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance, and the audit report included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "We reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the Air Force Sergeants Association, for fiscal years 2002, 2001, and 2000. Our review disclosed no reportable instances of noncompliance with the financial reporting requirements of the law. The audit reports included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the Aviation Hall of Fame for fiscal years 2001 and 2000. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit reports included the auditors' opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit report covering the financial statements of the Civil Air Patrol for fiscal year 2000. GAO did not review the auditors' working papers and is not rendering an audit opinion. The audit report included the auditors' opinion that with one exception, the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The exception related to six wings as a region as well as unites below using level not being audited and not being included in these financial statements."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2003, the Department of Defense expects to spend more than $18 billion to develop, acquire, and operate satellites and other space-related systems. Satellite systems collect information on the capabilities and intentions of potential adversaries. They enable military forces to be warned of a missile attack and to communicate and navigate while avoiding hostile action. And they provide information that allows forces to precisely attack targets in ways that minimize collateral damage and loss of life. DOD's satellites also enable global communications, television broadcasts, weather forecasting; navigation of ships, planes, trucks, and cars; and synchronization of computers, communications, and electric power grids. Congress requested that we review reports we issued on satellite and other space-related programs over the past two decades and identify common problems affecting these programs."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) is a federal public safety program whose goals are to add officer positions to the streets of communities nationwide and to promote community policing. Since the program's inception in 1994, local law enforcement agencies have received billions of dollars in grants to hire additional officers, acquire technology and civilian personnel, and implement innovative crime-prevention programs. To receive COPS grants, agencies are expected to implement or enhance community policing strategies illustrating community partnerships, problem solving, and organizational commitment. Given the large expenditures of funds, it is important for policy makers, among others, to have sound information on the effectiveness of the COPS program in reducing crime. Congress asked us to review one evaluation of the effectiveness of the COPS program--by Zhao and Thurman--and to render an assessment of its quality. In this report, we provide information on the extent to which this particular study's conclusions are supported by the data the researchers used and the analyses they conducted. GAO statisticians and methodology specialists reviewed the study using standard and widely accepted statistical and social science research principles."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This is a follow up to our April 30, 2003, testimony on the proposed Services Acquisition Reform Act of 2003 (SARA). Because our testimony was based on a section-by-section analysis of the proposed legislation, the House Committee on Government Reform requested that we review the specific provisions of the bill as introduced and provide any additional comments."