A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) downsized its acquisition workforce by half in the past decade. It now faces serious imbalances in the skills and experience of its remaining workforce and the potential loss of highly specialized knowledge if many of its acquisition specialists retire. DOD created the Acquisition 2005 Task Force to study its civilian acquisition workforce and develop a strategy to replenish personnel losses. In response to a legislative mandate, DOD reported on its plans to implement the task force's recommendations as required by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002. DOD's report shows that it has made progress in reshaping its acquisition workforce. For example, DOD is working to remove barriers to its strategic planning initiative; continuing to test various human capital innovations; and has begun making significant changes to its acquisition workforce-training program. DOD's report provides information on implementation of the task force's recommendations and their status. However, for many initiatives, DOD did not clearly describe the actions taken or when they occurred, nor did it identify all planned actions and schedules for completing the initiatives."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Financial relationships between individual investigators or their research institutions and private industry have yielded significant results, including treatments for such diseases as AIDS and strokes. However, some collaborations have raised concerns that the focus on financial reward might compromise the integrity of the research and the safety of human research subjects. GAO reviewed five universities with broad policies and procedures on financial conflicts of interest. All five had difficulty providing basic data on individual investigators' financial conflicts of interest in clinical research involving human subjects. The universities acknowledged a need for better coordination of information on investigators' financial relationships, and several universities were developing ways to do so. Policies and procedures at the five universities addressed financial conflicts of interest affecting institutions, including technology transfer activities and financial relationships with small start-up companies that market products developed by the universities. The Department of Health and Human Services has had limited success in promoting the integrity of biomedical research and protecting human subjects. HHS has taken steps to improve its oversight and monitoring and has drafted guidance on financial conflicts of interest, but this guidance does not …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Twenty-one percent of grant-eligible applicants who did not use the District of Columbia's tuition assistance grant (TAG) funding to attend a participating college or university may have encountered such barriers as college entrance requirements and the absence of minority outreach programs. Whether enrollment caps at colleges posed a barrier for applicants is unclear. In the program's first year, 516 of the nearly 2,500 eligible applicants did not use the grants. About 21 percent of the institutions in which applicants expressed interest restrict the number of out-of-state students that they will accept, although the extent to which this played a role in limiting access to these institutions is unclear. Enrollment at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) changed little during the TAG program's first year. The TAG program and UDC appeared to serve different freshmen populations, which may account for the TAG program's minimal impact on UDC enrollment. Although concerns about TAG program administration were largely resolved with the revision of program regulations in December 2000, other administrative issues may hinder program operations, including the determination of applicant eligibility and the distribution of information on …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report reviews the Department of Defense's (DOD) handling of appropriated funds from expired appropriation accounts. In 1990, Congress changed the law governing the use of appropriation accounts because it concluded that controls over them were not working. Without adequate controls, Congress was concerned that agencies could disburse money in amounts and for purposes that it had not approved. GAO found that DOD improperly charged appropriation accounts after they were closed. GAO also found that DOD did not establish the requisite systems, controls, and managerial attention required to properly account for its disbursements consistent with the 1990 account closing law. As a result, DOD made at least $615 million of illegal or otherwise improper adjustments during fiscal year 2000 alone. DOD was aware of the limitations the account closing law placed on the availability of canceled appropriations and that the law was enacted because of previous abuses by DOD. DOD also knew that a major system used to control its use of appropriations allowed for disbursements to be charged in a way that was inconsistent with the law. However, DOD did nothing to fix the system, …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "To increase child support collections, Congress has considered proposals to improve the ability of private firms to gather information to help locate noncustodial parents and enforce the payment of child support. At the end of fiscal year 2000, the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) indicated that $89 billion in child support was owed but unpaid--a 96-percent increase since the end of fiscal year 1996. GAO believes that this amount is understated. Thousands of private and public sector entities can collect child support. Both private firms and state agencies reported collections from about 60 percent of their cases. Twenty-two of the 24 private firms GAO reviewed reported that they relied on private information vendors--commercial firms that sell information such as addresses, telephone numbers, and social security numbers--as their primary information source, whereas about one-third of state agencies reported using this source. State agencies relied heavily on state and federal automated databases to locate noncustodial parents and their assets. Additionally, private firms and the state agencies reported calling noncustodial parents to collect child support. However, only the private firms called third parties, such as relatives and neighbors …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Before 1850, an estimated 16 million salmon and steelhead returned to the Columbia River Basin annually to spawn. Over the past 25 years, the number of salmon and steelhead returning to the Columbia River Basin has averaged only 660,000 per year although annual population levels have varied widely. Factors such as over-harvesting, construction and operation of dams, degradation of spawning habitat, increased human population, and unfavorable weather and ocean conditions have contributed to the long-term decline. The population decline has resulted in the listing of 12 salmon and steelhead populations in the basin as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Once a species is listed as threatened or endangered, the act requires that efforts be taken to allow its recovery. Eleven federal agencies are involved with salmon and steelhead recovery efforts in the Columbia River Basin. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), as the lead agency, is responsible for preparing a recovery plan and consulting with the other federal agencies on their planned actions. The 11 federal agencies estimate expenditures of $1.8 billion from fiscal year 1982 through fiscal year 1996 and $1.5 billion …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Money laundering is a serious crime, with hundreds of billions of dollars laundered annually. Congress passed the Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Strategy Act of 1998 to better coordinate the efforts of law enforcement agencies and financial regulators in combating money laundering. This act required the issuance of an annual National Money Laundering Strategy for 5 years, ending with the issuance of the 2003 strategy. To help with deliberations on reauthorization, GAO determined (1) agency perspectives on the benefit of the strategy and factors that affected its development and implementation, (2) whether the strategy has served as a useful mechanism for guiding the coordination of federal law enforcement agencies' efforts, (3) the role of the strategy in influencing the activities of federal financial regulators, and (4) whether the strategy has reflected key critical components."

A briefing report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Congress responded to the attacks of September 11, 2001, with dramatic funding increases to combat terrorism. Even before these attacks, Congress was concerned about increased funding in this area, and based on findings from a 1997 GAO report, mandated that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) report annually on funding to combat terrorism. In this review, GAO was asked to analyze such funding trends, describe difficulties in coordinating combating terrorism budgets, assess data reported to Congress, and describe the executive branch's efforts to maximize the effective use of combating terrorism funds. The review relied on OMB's definition of "combating terrorism" to include both homeland security and overseas combating terrorism missions."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In negotiating profit on contracts, the Department of Defense (DOD) requires contracting officers to set negotiating objectives by relying on guidelines in defense regulations. Congress mandated that DOD review its profit guidelines and consider whether modifying them would provide more incentive for contractors to develop and produce complex and innovative new technologies for weapon systems. After completing its review, DOD issued a final rule in December 2000 that added a technology incentive to its guidelines for setting profit objectives on negotiated defense contracts. This report reviews whether the new policy is (1) likely to achieve its intended objective of stimulating increased innovation and (2) consistent with the revised policies for acquiring weapons systems. GAO found that the new profit policy may have limited effect on incentivizing additional innovation because the policy has limited reach during research and development and it does not provide adequate guidance on when to apply the incentive. The policy may not reinforce DOD's emphasis on technology maturity in its guidance on the system acquisition process."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Navy's F/A-18E/F aircraft program, focusing on whether the operational tests: (1) validated the Department of Defense's (DOD) statements that the F/A-18E/F will provide performance capabilities that are superior to existing F/A-18 aircraft; and (2) raised issues that could impact aircraft cost or the upcoming decision on whether the Navy should award a multiyear procurement contract for full-rate production of the aircraft."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Air Force's and the Navy's development of the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) and the recent extension of the program's development schedule, focusing on: (1) what the program's status is and what the causes of the schedule slip and cost increase were; and (2) whether the Air Force is following the most effective acquisition strategy to reduce the risk of cost growth and schedule delays."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The cleanup of contaminated Department of Defense (DOD) sites could cost billions of dollars. Private contractors or lessees that may have contributed to such contamination may also be responsible for cleanup costs. DOD and other responsible parties either agree to a cost sharing arrangement with the responsible parties conducting the cleanup or DOD conducts the cleanup and attempts to recover the other parties' share after the cleanup. On the basis of a GAO study, DOD issued guidance requiring its components to identify, investigate, and pursue cost recoveries and to report on them in the Defense Environmental Restoration Program Annual Report to Congress. The data on cost recoveries from non-Defense parties included in the Department's report for fiscal year 1999 were inaccurate, inconsistent, and incomplete. As a result, neither Congress nor DOD can determine the extent of progress made in recovering costs or the extent to which cost recoveries may offset cleanup costs. Data on cost recoveries included throughout the annual report were also missing from the appendix. Thus, DOD may not know whether all potential cost recoveries have been actively pursued and reported."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In July 2000, the Defense Commissary Agency proposed changes to its regional management structure that it expects will generate savings, improve efficiencies, and provide more effective management of commissary operations. The plan calls for eliminating the two area offices within the Eastern Region and consolidating most of the Eastern Region's operations at the region's headquarters at Virginia Beach, Virginia. Although the agency has not fully refined its cost and savings estimates, it appears that these proposed changes will yield savings and improve operations. However, with the implementation of the plan comes a loss of operational expertise in the closing offices that could potentially disrupt operations and customer service. Whether the proposed regional reorganization is the best approach for achieving efficiencies is unclear because the agency did not assess alternative structural approaches to improving regional operations and creating efficiencies. The plan is limited because it considers only the Eastern Region and not the overall regional structure, which is to be considered in the agency's follow-on study of the current reorganization plan. Although the closure of the area offices is likely to improve efficiency, the planned study to …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO evaluated the extent to which the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) has implemented commercial inventory practice initiatives contained in a schedule submitted to Congress, focusing on: (1) DLA's progress in implementing the initiatives; and (2) opportunities to build on and expand existing efforts."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Department of Energy's (DOE) national security controls for its contractor employees' foreign travel, focusing on: (1) the types of foreign intelligence-gathering incidents that have occurred during foreign travel by contractor employees; (2) the DOE controls that apply to foreign travel by contractor employees; and (3) areas where these controls can be strengthened."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report reviews the Department of Justice's fiscal year 2000 performance report and fiscal year 2002 performance plan required by the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 and assesses Justice's progress in achieving selected key outcomes that were identified as important mission areas. Justice's overall progress toward achieving the key outcomes was difficult to ascertain because generally the performance report lacked fiscal year 2000 performance targets to measure success and lacked clear linkage between performance measures and outcomes. Justice did not set fiscal year 2000 performance targets for some measures because the measures were new, and for some measures Justice believes that setting performance targets could cause the public to perceive law enforcement as engaging in "bounty hunting" or pursuing arbitrary targets merely for the sake of meeting particular goals. Justice's strategies varied in the extent to which they included sufficient information to inform decisionmakers about initiatives to achieve these outcomes. GAO notes opportunities for Justice to improve the usefulness of its reports and plans."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Distance education--that is, offering courses by Internet, video, or other forms outside the classroom--has changed considerably in recent years and is a growing force in postsecondary education. More than a decade ago, concerns about fraud and abuse by some correspondence schools led to federal restrictions on, among other things, the percentage of courses a school could provide by distance education and still qualify for federal student aid. Given the recent changes in distance education, GAO was asked to review the extent to which the restrictions affect schools' ability to offer federal student aid and the Department of Education's assessment of the continued appropriateness of the restrictions. Additionally, GAO was asked to look at the extent to which accrediting agencies evaluate distance education programs, including their approach for assessing student outcomes."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "As more and more federal jobs are privatized, individuals working for private industry are taking on a greater role in national security work for the Department of Defense (DOD) and other federal agencies. Because many of these jobs require access to classified information, industry personnel must hold a security clearance. As of September 30, 2003, industry workers held more than one-third of all clearances issued by DOD. Long-standing security clearance backlogs and delays in determining clearance eligibility affect industry personnel, military members, and federal employees. As requested, we reviewed the clearance eligibility process for industry personnel and (1) describe the size of the backlog and changes in the time needed to issue eligibility determinations, (2) identify reasons for the backlog and delays, and (3) evaluate initiatives that DOD could take to eliminate the backlog and decrease the delays."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Social Security Administration's (SSA) AeDib initiative is designed to provide SSA with a more efficient, paperless system that will enable its disability components to electronically view and share claims data and process claims electronically. Yet previous GAO reviews found that SSA's accelerated strategy to develop AeDib involved risks that could threaten a complete and successful transition to this capability. At the Subcommittee's request, GAO reviewed AeDib to assess (1) SSA's progress and strategy, (2) the adequacy of measures taken to avoid software development problems similar to those encountered in SSA's previous efforts, (3) the adequacy of cost/benefit analyses, and (4) SSA's consultation with stakeholders."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Dioxins--chemical compounds that share structural and biological characteristics--have been linked to human illnesses, including cancer. Often the byproducts of combustion and industrial processes, complex mixtures of dioxins enter the food chain and human diet through emissions into the air. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) noted the potential human health risks of dioxins in the 1970s when animal studies showed them to be among the most potent cancer-causing chemicals. EPA derived its estimates of human dietary exposure to dioxins in the United States from (1) chemically analyzed samples of 10 food types, (2) toxicity estimates of levels of individual dioxins in these foods, and (3) estimates of the quantities of these foods consumed by Americans. To develop more reliable national estimates of dietary exposure, EPA incorporated into its analysis some food studies that were nationally representative. Although both EPA and the WHO have assessed the human health risks of dioxins during the last decade, some of their objectives and processes have differed. Nonetheless, the analytical methods used and the conclusions reached have much in common. A major difference in the assessments …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Minority employees at the EPA reported for a number of years that the agency had discriminated against them based on their race and retaliated against them for filing complaints. These issues were aired at hearings held by the House Committee on Science at which EPA said it would take actions to ensure a fair and discrimination free workplace. GAO was asked to review (1) the accuracy of EPA's equal employment opportunity (EEO) data, (2) various issues about the processes used to resolve discrimination complaints, and (3) the disciplinary actions taken for managers who discriminate."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Courts Administration Act of 1992 requires GAO to review certain aspects of the Judicial Survivors' Annuities System (JSAS), one of several survivor benefit plans applicable to federal employees. JSAS provides annuities to surviving spouses and dependent children of deceased Supreme Court Justices, judges of the United States, and other participating judicial officials. For the 3 years covered by GAO's review, the judges' contributions represented more than 50 percent of the JSAS normal costs for fiscal year 1999, but less than 50 percent for fiscal years 2000 and 2001. To cover 50 percent of JSAS estimated future normal costs, the judges' contributions would need to increase by 0.1 percentage point above the 2.2 percent of salaries paid by retired judges. However, increasing required contributions could reduce the judges' rate of participation even though increasing participation was one of the main reasons for enhancing JSAS benefits and reducing judges' contributions in 1992."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the financial statements of the Bank Insurance Fund, the Savings Association Insurance Fund, and the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation Resolution Fund for the years ended December 31, 1999 and 1998. GAO also reviewed: (1) the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) management's assertions regarding the effectiveness of its internal controls as of December 31, 1999; and (2) FDIC's compliance with laws and regulations during 1999."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on the Financial Management Service's (FMS) computer controls in fiscal year (FY) 1999, focusing on: (1) the significant weaknesses GAO identified in its limited official use report and the recommendations that GAO had made; and (2) a follow-up on previously reported weaknesses."