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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
Best Practices: Setting Requirements Differently Could Reduce Weapon Systems' Total Ownership Costs (open access)

Best Practices: Setting Requirements Differently Could Reduce Weapon Systems' Total Ownership Costs

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "For fiscal year 2003, the Department of Defense (DOD) asked for about $185 billion to develop, procure, operate, and maintain its weapon systems. This request represents an increase of 18 percent since 2001 for the total ownership costs of DOD weapon systems. Often, DOD systems need expensive spare parts and support systems after they are fielded to meet required readiness levels. DOD has been increasingly concerned that the high cost of maintaining systems has limited its ability to modernize and invest in new weapons. This report examines the best practices of leading commercial firms to manage a product's total ownership costs and determines if those practices can be applied to DOD."
Date: February 11, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Forest Service: Year-end Financial Reporting Significantly Improved, but Certain Underlying Problems Remain (open access)

Forest Service: Year-end Financial Reporting Significantly Improved, but Certain Underlying Problems Remain

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1996, we have periodically reported on Forest Service financial management problems that we, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Office of the Inspector General, and other independent auditors have identified. We have designated the Forest Service financial management as a high-risk area since 1999. Because of these longstanding financial management deficiencies, the House Committee on Resource's Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health asked GAO to report on the Forest Service's progress in correcting its financial management problems and on remaining challenges and actions underway to address those challenges."
Date: May 1, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Computer-Based Patient Records: Short-Term Progress Made, but Much Work Remains to Achieve a Two-Way Data Exchange Between VA and DOD Health Systems (open access)

Computer-Based Patient Records: Short-Term Progress Made, but Much Work Remains to Achieve a Two-Way Data Exchange Between VA and DOD Health Systems

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "For the past 5 years, the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense have been working to exchange health care data and create electronic records for veterans and active duty personnel. Such exchange is seen as a means of reducing the billions of dollars that the departments spend annually on health care services and making such data more readily accessible to those treating our country's approximately 13 million veterans, military personnel, and dependents. This is especially critical when military personnel are engaged in conflicts all over the world, and their health records can reside at multiple locations. GAO has reported on these efforts several times, most recently in September 2002. At the request of the Subcommittee, GAO is updating its observations on the departments' efforts, focusing on (1) the reported status of the ongoing, one-way exchange of data, the Federal Health Information Exchange, and (2) progress toward achieving the longer term two-way exchange under the HealthePeople (Federal) initiative."
Date: November 19, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Contract Management: High-Level Attention Needed to Transform DOD Services Acquisition (open access)

Contract Management: High-Level Attention Needed to Transform DOD Services Acquisition

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense's (DOD) spending on service contracts approaches $100 billion annually, but recent legislation directs DOD to manage its services procurement more effectively. Leading companies transformed management practices and achieved major savings after they analyzed spending patterns and coordinated procurement. This report evaluates DOD's implementation of the legislation in light of congressional interest in promoting the use of best commercial practices for acquiring services."
Date: September 10, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Corps of Engineers: Effects of Restrictions on Corps' Hopper Dredges Should Be Comprehensively Analyzed (open access)

Corps of Engineers: Effects of Restrictions on Corps' Hopper Dredges Should Be Comprehensively Analyzed

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The fiscal year 2002 Conference Report for the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act directed GAO to study the benefits and effects of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (Corps) dredge fleet. GAO examined the characteristics and changing roles of the Corps and industry in hopper dredging; the effect of current restrictions on the Corps' hopper dredge fleet; and whether existing and proposed restrictions on the fleet, including the proposal to place the McFarland in ready reserve, are justified. In addition, GAO identified concerns related to the government cost estimates the Corps prepares to determine the reasonableness of industry bids."
Date: March 31, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Homeland Security: Voluntary Initiatives Are Under Way at Chemical Facilities, but the Extent of Security Preparedness Is Unknown (open access)

Homeland Security: Voluntary Initiatives Are Under Way at Chemical Facilities, but the Extent of Security Preparedness Is Unknown

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The events of September 11, 2001, triggered a national re-examination of the security of thousands of industrial facilities that use or store hazardous chemicals in quantities that could potentially put large numbers of Americans at risk of serious injury or death in the event of a terrorist-caused chemical release. GAO was asked to examine (1) available information on the threats and risks from terrorism faced by U.S. chemical facilities; (2) federal requirements for security preparedness and safety at facilities; (3) actions taken by federal agencies to assess the vulnerability of the industry; and (4) voluntary actions the chemical industry has taken to address security preparedness, and the challenges it faces in protecting its assets and operations."
Date: March 14, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Social Security and Minorities: Earnings, Disability Incidence, and Mortality Are Key Factors That Influence Taxes Paid and Benefits Received (open access)

Social Security and Minorities: Earnings, Disability Incidence, and Mortality Are Key Factors That Influence Taxes Paid and Benefits Received

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Although Social Security's benefit and contribution provisions are neutral with respect to race, ethnicity, and gender, concerns about the experiences of minority groups under Social Security focus on whether they benefit less than whites, particularly because of the shorter life expectancy of blacks. These concerns are related to the concept of equity, or how benefits compare with taxes. To gain a thorough understanding of the experiences of minority populations under Social Security, GAO was asked to examine (1) what socioeconomic and demographic factors influence Social Security taxes paid and benefits received and (2) how different equity measures compare across racial groups. Because of the current system's projected actuarial deficit, to conduct this study, GAO made its calculations using three policy scenarios, each of which achieves 75-year solvency: a payroll tax increase and a progressive and proportional benefit cut. Further, GAO used three measures of equity: lifetime benefit-to-tax ratios, net lifetime benefits, and real internal rates of return. GAO also examined four birth cohorts: 1931-40, 1941-45, 1946-55, and 1956-64."
Date: April 23, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Space Activities: Organizational Changes Initiated, but Further Management Actions Needed (open access)

Defense Space Activities: Organizational Changes Initiated, but Further Management Actions Needed

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In January 2001, the congressionally chartered Commission to Assess United States National Security Space Management and Organization--known as the Space Commission--reported that the Department of Defense (DOD) lacked the senior-level focus and accountability to provide guidance and oversight for national security space operations. Congress mandated that GAO provide an assessment of DOD's actions to implement the Space Commission's recommendations. Thus, GAO (1) updated its June 2002 assessment of DOD's actions to address the Space Commission's recommendations, (2) ascertained progress in addressing other long- term management concerns, and (3) assessed the extent to which DOD has developed a results-oriented management framework for space activities."
Date: April 18, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Securities Investor Protection: Update on Matters Related to the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (open access)

Securities Investor Protection: Update on Matters Related to the Securities Investor Protection Corporation

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "As result of ongoing concerns about the adequacy of disclosures provided to investors about the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) and investors' responsibilities to protect their investments, GAO issued a report in 2001 entitled Securities Investor Protection: Steps Needed to Better Disclose SIPC Policies to Investors (GAO-01-653). GAO was asked to determine the status of recommendations made to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and SIPC in that report. GAO was also asked to review a number of issues involving excess SIPC insurance, private insurance securities firms purchase to cover accounts that are in excess of SIPC's statutory limits."
Date: July 11, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Privacy: An Overview of Federal Statues Governing Wiretapping and Electronic Eavesdropping (open access)

Privacy: An Overview of Federal Statues Governing Wiretapping and Electronic Eavesdropping

This report provides an overview of federal law governing wiretapping and electronic eavesdropping. It also appends citations to state law in the area and contains a bibliography of legal commentary as well as the text of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). This report also includes a brief summary of the recently expired Protect America Act, P.L. 110-55 and of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2008, P.L. 110-261 (H.R. 6304).
Date: January 13, 2003
Creator: Stevens, Gina & Doyle, Charles
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
SEC and CFTC Fines Follow-Up: Collection Programs Are Improving, but Further Steps Are Warranted (open access)

SEC and CFTC Fines Follow-Up: Collection Programs Are Improving, but Further Steps Are Warranted

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Collecting fines ordered for violations of securities and futures laws helps ensure that violators are held accountable for their offenses and may also deter future violations. The requesters asked GAO to evaluate the actions the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have taken to address earlier recommendations for improving their collection programs. The committees also asked GAO to update the fines collection rates from previous reports."
Date: July 15, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Spent Nuclear Fuel: Options Exist to Further Enhance Security (open access)

Spent Nuclear Fuel: Options Exist to Further Enhance Security

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Spent nuclear fuel, the used fuel periodically removed from nuclear power reactors, is one of the most hazardous materials made by man. Nuclear power companies currently store 50,000 tons of spent fuel at 72 sites in 33 states. That amount will increase through 2010, when the Department of Energy (DOE) expects to open a permanent repository for this fuel at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Concerns have been raised since September 11, 2001, that terrorists might target spent fuel. GAO was asked to (1) review federally sponsored studies that assessed the potential health effects of a terrorist attack or a severe accident on spent fuel, either in transit or in storage, and (2) identify options for DOE to further enhance the security of spent fuel during shipping to Yucca Mountain."
Date: July 15, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Credit Unions: Financial Condition Has Improved, but Opportunities Exist to Enhance Oversight and Share Insurance Management (open access)

Credit Unions: Financial Condition Has Improved, but Opportunities Exist to Enhance Oversight and Share Insurance Management

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Recent legislative and regulatory changes have blurred some distinctions between credit unions and other depository institutions such as banks. The 1998 Credit Union Membership Access Act (CUMAA) allowed for an expansion of membership and mandated safety and soundness controls similar to those of other depository institutions. In light of these changes and the evolution of the credit union industry, GAO evaluated (1) the financial condition of the industry and the deposit (share) insurance fund, (2) the impact of CUMAA on the industry, and (3) how the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) had changed its safety and soundness processes."
Date: October 27, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Business Modernization: NASA's Challenges in Managing Its Integrated Financial Management Program (open access)

Business Modernization: NASA's Challenges in Managing Its Integrated Financial Management Program

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) spends 90 percent--$13 billion--of its budget on contractors. Yet since 1990, GAO has designated NASA's contract management as a high-risk area--in part because the agency failed to implement a financial management system to provide information needed to make key program decisions. In April 2000, NASA initiated its most recent effort to implement an effective financial management system--the Integrated Financial Management Program (IFMP). Three years into the program, GAO found NASA risks building a system that will cost more and do less than planned. As a result, the Congress requested reviews of NASA's IFMP enterprise architecture and financial reporting and program cost and schedule controls."
Date: November 21, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Report
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
Information Generally Not Available on Toy Gun Issues Related to Crime, Injuries or Deaths, and Long-Term Impact (open access)

Information Generally Not Available on Toy Gun Issues Related to Crime, Injuries or Deaths, and Long-Term Impact

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."
Date: September 30, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Financial Management: Information on the Mandated Transfer of HUD's Appropriation Law Function to the Chief Financial Officer (open access)

Financial Management: Information on the Mandated Transfer of HUD's Appropriation Law Function to the Chief Financial Officer

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2003 (the Appropriation Act) gave HUD's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), in consultation with the HUD Budget Officer, the "sole authority" to investigate potential or actual violations under the Anti- Deficiency Act and all other statutes and regulations related to the obligation and expenditure of funds made available in any act. Further, the Appropriations Act provided that the CFO shall determine whether violations occurred and submit the final reports required by law. Finally, the Appropriation Act required the Secretary of HUD to transfer no fewer than four appropriation law attorneys from its Office of General Counsel (OGC) to its Office of Chief Financial Officer (OCFO). These provisions and HUD's actions to implement the Appropriation Act's requirements raised a number of potential implementation issues and led to a Congressional request that we review and provide information on the impact that these provisions have had at HUD. Specifically, Congress asked for information pertaining to five questions, which we have provided in a question and answer format in this report. As discussed, the responses to these …
Date: November 21, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federally Chartered Corporation: Review of the Financial Statement Audit Reports for the Congressional Medal of Honor Society of the United States of America of 2000-2002 (open access)

Federally Chartered Corporation: Review of the Financial Statement Audit Reports for the Congressional Medal of Honor Society of the United States of America of 2000-2002

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society of the United States of America, for fiscal years 2002, 2001, and 2000. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit report included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corportation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted principles."
Date: August 7, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Department of Energy: Reimbursement of Contractor Litigation Costs (open access)

Department of Energy: Reimbursement of Contractor Litigation Costs

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Energy (DOE) contracts with not-for-profit universities and private companies to operate its facilities. As part of the cost of operating these facilities, DOE can reimburse its contractors for the litigation costs associated with cases brought against them. Each year the department spends millions of dollars in such reimbursements. For the most part, litigation expenses involve the costs of outside counsel and resulting judgments and settlements for a variety of types of cases, such as equal employment opportunity, radiation and/or toxic exposure, personal injury, wrongful termination of employment, and whistleblower protections. Rep. Edward J. Markey asked GAO to study the extent to which DOE reimburses its contractors' litigation costs and the process for doing so. GAO obtained information on (1) how much DOE spends to reimburse litigation costs for its contractors, (2) what major criteria DOE uses to reimburse its contractors for litigation costs and how it implements these criteria, (3) what major criteria the Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration use to reimburse their contractors for litigation costs, (4) the extent to which a state university that is a DOE contractor …
Date: November 26, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Transmittal of Comptroller General Decision on the Transportation Security Administration's Time and Attendance Approval System (open access)

Transmittal of Comptroller General Decision on the Transportation Security Administration's Time and Attendance Approval System

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This letter is to highlight internal control advice we offered in our December 2002 decision to four certifying officers of the Department of Transportation (DOT). Their July 24, 2002 letter had requested a Comptroller General decision related to certifying payroll payments. Pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3529, the four certifying officers asked us whether the method of approving an employee's time and attendance (T&A) information in the T&A system, to which the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is transitioning, meets the requirements of Title 6 of GAO's Policy and Procedures Manual for Guidance of Federal Agencies."
Date: March 11, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Military Personnel: DFAS Has Not Met All Information Technology Requirements for Its New Pay System (open access)

Military Personnel: DFAS Has Not Met All Information Technology Requirements for Its New Pay System

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In early January 2003, we initiated a review of the Defense Integrated Military Human Resource System (DIMHRS) to get an understanding of the program, its goals, its present status, and the problems it is designed to resolve. During this review, we became aware that in April 2003 the Department of Defense (DOD) authorized the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) to initiate a pilot project to demonstrate its ability to develop an interim military pay system, called Forward Compatible Military Pay, before DIMHRS is fully operational. DFAS maintains that an interim system should be developed as soon as possible for two reasons: (1) the planned personnel and pay system that DOD is currently developing as part of the larger DIMHRS will be implemented later than its projected target date of December 2006 and (2) the current military pay system--the Defense Joint Military Pay System--is aging, unresponsive, and fragile and has become a major impediment to efficient and high quality customer service. It is estimated that the Forward Compatible Military Pay system could be operational by March 2006 at a design and development cost ranging from about $17 million …
Date: October 20, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Hazardous Waste: EPA's Cleanup of the Eagle-Picher Henryetta, Oklahoma, Site (open access)

Hazardous Waste: EPA's Cleanup of the Eagle-Picher Henryetta, Oklahoma, Site

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "From 1996 to 1997, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted a cleanup action on a former zinc smelter operated by Eagle-Picher Mining and Smelting, Inc. and other areas contaminated by materials from this site near Henryetta, Oklahoma. EPA's cleanup focused on removing the immediate health threat posed by lead- and arsenic-contaminated soil transported from the Eagle-Picher site to residential and other highly accessible areas. Cleanup actions on the Eagle-Picher site involved establishing proper drainage on the site, encapsulating the Eagle-Picher site with clay and cover soil, and establishing vegetative cover at the site to protect nearby residents from the recontamination from wind and water erosion of hazardous materials. Since completion of the cleanup, private landowners of a neighboring property have raised concerns about contamination of their property resulting from EPA's cleanup actions. Landowners allege that EPA, through its contractors, transported and negligently disposed of hazardous substances on their property. The landowners also allege that EPA's actions at the site contributed to the migration of contamination from the Eagle-Picher site onto their property. These landowners are currently pursuing litigation against EPA and the city of Henryetta for damages …
Date: September 5, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Review of Veterans' Preference and the 'Rule of 3' (open access)

Review of Veterans' Preference and the 'Rule of 3'

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The General Accounting Office has completed a review of selected agencies' compliance with veterans' preference and the "Rule of 3" in federal hiring. This review was requested by Congressman Lane Evans, Ranking Minority Member of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, and Senator Tom Daschle. As agreed with the requesters, because of continuing oversight of agencies' delegated examining units (DEU) and ongoing review of veterans' preference, we are providing the results of our review for possible follow-up. The requesters specifically asked us to review the results of job announcements for fiscal year 2001 for five selected agency personnel offices in the Washington Metropolitan Area: the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) headquarters, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG). As agreed with the requesters, we reviewed: (1) advertised full-time positions (both permanent and temporary) at the GS-7,9,11,13, and 15 levels as identified by the selected agency, (2) the use of multiple certificates in filling these positions, (3) the resulting certificates of eligibilities, including how often veterans headed these certificates and were …
Date: August 22, 2003
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library