Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The security of the nation's commercial aviation system has been a long-standing concern. Following the events of September 11, 2001, Congress enacted numerous aviation security improvements designed to strengthen aviation security, including the development of a passenger prescreening system and the federalization of airport screeners. Despite these changes, challenges continue to face the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) efforts to improve aviation security. GAO was asked to summarize the results of previous and ongoing aviation security work. These include: (1) the development of CAPPS II to assist in identifying high-risk passengers, (2) the management of passenger and baggage screening programs, (3) the operations of the Federal Air Marshal Service, and (4) other aviations security related efforts, such as cargo, that remain a concern."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Effective coordination of the many agencies that participate in a criminal justice system is key to overall success. Although any criminal justice system faces coordination challenges, the unique structure and funding of the District of Columbia (D.C.) criminal justice system, in which federal and D.C. jurisdictional boundaries and dollars are blended, creates additional challenges. Almost every stage of D.C.'s criminal justice process presents such challenges, and participating agencies are sometimes reluctant to coordinate because the costs to implement needed changes may fall on one or more federally funded agencies, while any savings accrue to one or more D.C. funded agencies, or vice versa. The Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) was established and staffed as an independent entity to improve systemwide coordination and cooperation. During its two and a half-year existence, CJCC has served as a useful, independent, discussion forum at a modest cost. It has had notable success in several areas in which agencies perceived a common interest, such as developing technology that permits greater information sharing. It has been less successful in other areas, such as papering, in which forging consensus on the need for …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division (CRT) fiscal year (FY) 2000 annual performance plan to determine the extent to which the plan had met Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) requirements and related guidance, focusing on: (1) defining expected performance; (2) addressing the crosscutting nature of its programs; and (3) providing confidence that its performance information was credible."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report updates the status of corrective measures taken by federal agencies to address internal control weaknesses that could affect the United States' ability to effectively respond to chemical or biological terrorist attacks. GAO, which cited these weaknesses in 1999, found that the agencies have significantly improved accountability over the medical supplies needed to treat victims of chemical or biological terrorism. However, ensuring that supplies are current, accounted for, and readily available depends in large part on successful collaboration with other entities. Until the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Office for Emergency Preparedness (OEP) formalize ad hoc arrangements with other entities covering the storage, management, stock rotation, and transporting of supplies, they run the risk that, in the event of a chemical or biological attack, the appropriate supplies will be unavailable. Also, unless the agencies' inventory requirements lists are up-to-date and reflect their own identified needs, the agencies cannot guarantee that they have the supplies on hand to fulfill their mission."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed a partnership between the federal government and three domestic automobile manufacturers called the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV), focusing on: (1) the progress made to date toward achieving the partnership goals; (2) the historical federal funding levels; (3) the technologies being developed under PNGV; and (4) a comparison of the overall research and development activities of the automobile manufacturer participants with research sponsored by the partnership."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Computerized control systems perform vital functions across many of our nation's critical infrastructures. For example, in natural gas distribution, they can monitor and control the pressure and flow of gas through pipelines. In October 1997, the President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection emphasized the increasing vulnerability of control systems to cyber attacks. At the request of the House Committee on Government Reform, Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and the Census, this testimony will discuss GAO's March 2004 report on potential cyber vulnerabilities, focusing on (1) significant cybersecurity risks associated with control systems (2) potential and reported cyber attacks against these systems (3) key challenges to securing control systems, and (4) efforts to strengthen the cybersecurity of control systems."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Several Department of Defense (DOD) components have software and systems process improvement (SPI) programs that are aligned closely to the best practices embodied in the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) IDEAL model and thus provide excellent examples of SPI. Elsewhere in DOD, however, such programs are lacking. Where they do exist, these programs are being credited with producing higher quality software and systems products faster and at less expense, whether managed in a centralized or decentralized fashion. The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) has an important leadership role to play in expanding SPI across the department. In particular, it can seize opportunities to build upon and leverage the existing base of SPI programs within DOD's components and help ensure that all of its components realize the strategic value (i.e., benefits that exceed costs) that both private and public-sector organizations, including some DOD components, attribute to these programs. Although OSD faces funding choices among competing leadership initiatives, such as its efforts to conduct software acquisition maturity assessments and collect software metrics, these are some of the very tasks that are embedded within an effective SPI program. …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Education's redesigned discretionary grants process, focusing on: (1) Education's progress in implementing the redesigned awards process; (2) the management controls used to help ensure a fair peer review process and the costs of peer review; and (3) the extent to which grant awards are consistent with the results of peer review and the legislation governing individual grant programs."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Energy (Energy) and its predecessor agencies and contractors have employed thousands of people in the nuclear weapons production complex. Some employees were exposed to toxic substances, including radioactive and hazardous materials, during this work, and many subsequently developed illnesses. Subtitle D of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 allows Energy to help its contractor employees file state workers' compensation claims for illnesses determined by a panel of physicians to be caused by exposure to toxic substances in the course of employment at an Energy facility. Congress mandated that GAO study the effectiveness of the benefit program under Subtitle D of this Act. This testimony is based on GAO's ongoing work on this issue and focuses on four key areas: (1) the number, status, and characteristics of claims filed with Energy; (2) the extent to which Energy policies and procedures help employees file timely claims for these state benefits; (3) the extent to which there will be a "willing payer" of workers' compensation benefits, that is, an insurer who--by order from or agreement with Energy--will not contest these claims; and (4) a …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the General Services Administration's (GSA) Repairs and Alterations Program, focusing on: (1) the extent of repairs and alterations that have been identified at government-owned buildings managed by GSA; (2) factors that impede GSA's ability to satisfy its repair and alteration needs; and (3) GSA's efforts to improve its management of repairs and alterations."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The safety of the U.S. food supply is governed by a highly complex system of more than 30 laws administered by 12 agencies. In light of the recent focus on government reorganization, it is time to ask whether the current system can effectively and efficiently respond to today's challenges. At the request of the Subcommittee on Civil Service and Agency Organization, we reviewed and summarized our work on the safety and security of the food supply regarding (1) the fragmented legal and organizational structure of the federal food safety system, (2) the consequences of overlapping and inconsistent inspection and enforcement, and (3) options for consolidating food safety functions."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report presents the results of GAO's audits of expenditures reported by six offices of independent counsel and one office of special counsel for the six months ending September 30, 2000. GAO found the statements of expenditures for the offices of independent counsel and office of special counsel were presented fairly in all material respects. There were no material weaknesses in internal controls over financial reporting (including safeguarding of assets) and no reportable noncompliance with the laws and regulations GAO tested."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In June 2000, the House Committee on Science identified a significant discrepancy between an amount reported in the National Aeronautic and Space Administration's (NASA) audited financial statements for fiscal year 1999 and its submission in the President's Budget for fiscal year 2001. NASA's 1999 financial statement was misstated by a reported $644 million. The misstatement was in the "Recoveries of Prior Year Obligations" line of the statement. NASA had relied on an ad hoc process that included a data call from the reporting units' (nine centers and headquarters) separate systems and a compilation of reported amounts using a spreadsheet. In addition, when compiling these data, NASA headquarters mistakenly added amounts that were not relevant to the recoveries line. Headquarters officials said that the error resulted from their misinterpretation of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance on what to include in the recoveries line. NASA is now acquiring and implementing a single, commercial off-the-shelf core accounting system that it believes will solve the problem. In its audit of NASA's financial statements for fiscal year 1999, Arthur Andersen did not detect the error in NASA's Statement …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Despite methodological limitations, demonstration studies provide program managers and policymakers with some useful information on the types of Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition service interventions that can have positive results for participants. However, only one recent demonstration study provides any information on the costs associated with implementing various interventions. Given the limited resources available to provide WIC nutrition services, information on the costs to provide effective services could play a critical role in managers' decisions to implement the intervention and policymakers' decisions on funding the intervention."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The negotiations to establish a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), which would eliminate tariffs and create common trade and investment rules within the 34 democratic nations of the Western Hemisphere, are among the most significant ongoing multilateral trade negotiations for the United States. Two meetings held in April 2001 offer opportunities to inject momentum and set an ambitious pace for the next, more difficult phase of the negotiations. Because of the significance of the FTAA initiative, this report (1) discusses the progress that has been made in the free trade negotiations so far, (2) identifies the challenges that must be overcome to complete a free trade agreement, and (3) discusses the importance of the April meetings of trade ministers and national leaders of participating countries. GAO found that the FTAA negotiations have met the goals and deadlines set by trade ministers. Significant challenges remain, including market access concessions and doubts that key Western Hemisphere leaders will have the political will to embrace the agreement. The April meetings of trade ministers will serve as a transition from the initial proposal phase to the substantive negotiations …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Telecommunications services are increasingly critical to transforming the way the federal government does business; communicates internally and externally; and interacts with citizens, industry, and state, local, and foreign governments. Electronic government services based on reliable, secure, and cost-effective telecommunications can enable agencies to streamline the way they do business, reduce paperwork and delays, and increase operational efficiencies. It is important that a far-reaching program, such as the FTS2001 program, take full advantage of new services offered by industry; that agencies effectively and efficiently implement these telecommunications services to improve operations; and that the program be successfully implemented to maximize benefits to the taxpayers. Despite progress, the government did not meet its deadlines for transition to FTS2001 and has not yet completed this effort. The government missed its deadline for several reasons, including a lack of sufficient information to effectively oversee and manage this complex transition, slowness in completing all the contract modifications needed to add transition-critical services to the FTS2001 contracts, slowness of some customer agencies to order FTS2001 services, staffing shortfalls and billing problems on the part of FTS2001 contractors, and local exchange carriers' difficulties …

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report provides GAO's assessment of what it has been able to accomplish in fiscal year 2000 and presents its plans for continued progress through fiscal year 2002."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Electronic dissemination of government documents can reduce distribution costs and make government information more usable and accessible. However, the transition to a paperless environment will require that several challenges be overcome. Transferring the depository library program to the Library of Congress entails both advantages and disadvantages. In studies done in 1993 and 1994, the Library concluded that the depository library program was not inconsistent with the mission and functions of the Library and that it might be appropriate for the Library to oversee this program. However, the Government Printing Office (GPO) believes that the Library is not an appropriate home for the depository library program because the Library's mission and operations are inconsistent with a large-scale information dissemination program. In addition, the studies and librarian organizations raised concerns about the potential negative effects of the transfer on public access to information and the availability of funds to maintain the current program. If a decision is made to transfer the depository library program, the concerns raised by library organizations and employee unions should be addressed. One option for addressing these issues is to form a GPO/Library transition …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The components, military services, and agencies of the Department of Defense (DOD) share many risks in their use of globally networked computer systems to perform operational missions. Many reports of vulnerabilities, organized intrusions, and theft related to department systems and networks have underscored weaknesses in DOD systems. In January 1998, DOD responded to these risks by announcing its plans for a Defense-wide Information Assurance Program to promote integrated, comprehensive, and consistent information assurance (IA) practices across the department. Although the program has addressed issues related to DOD's departmental IA goals, established new IA policy, improved communication across the department, and introduced mechanisms for monitoring IA efforts throughout DOD, many IA issues remain unaddressed. Given the high priority that DOD puts on IA, GAO believes the the program should have made progress on more of its implementation plan objectives by this time and gone further with the ones it has begun to address. Top-level DOD management has not carried out oversight commensurate with the program's high-priority role and the program has not received the resources that were judged necessary by DOD when the program was initiated. DOD …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Effective tax administration requires a combination of quality customer service to help those who want to comply, and effective enforcement measures against those who do not. For the last few years, we have been reporting on improvements in taxpayer service and declines in enforcement. With respect to IRS's fiscal year 2005 budget request, the Subcommittee asked GAO to assess whether (1) IRS will be able to allocate more resources to enforcement, and (2) Business Systems Modernization (BSM) and other technology efforts will deliver cost savings and efficiencies in the immediate future. For the 2004 filing season performance, GAO was asked to assess IRS's performance in processing returns and providing assistance to taxpayers."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In June 1998, The Department of Justice (DOJ) issued guidance on the fair and responsible use of the False Claims Act in civil health care matters. This report evaluates DOJ's efforts to ensure compliance with the guidance and focuses on the application of the guidance in two recent DOJ initiatives-the Prospective Payment System (PPS) Transfer and Pneumonia Upcoding Project. GAO found that DOJ has taken steps to further strengthen its oversight of compliance with its False Claims Act guidance. These steps include (1) reviewing each U.S. Attorneys Office's compliance with the guidance as part of the periodic evaluation of all U.S. Attorneys' Offices, (2) requiring all U.S. Attorneys' Offices involved in civil health care fraud control to certify their compliance with the guidance, (3) forming working groups to coordinate national initiatives, and (4) maintaining ongoing contacts with participating U.S. Attorneys' Offices to help ensure that they are complying with the guidance. GAO also found that DOJ is implementing the PPS Transfer and Pneumonia Upcoding projects in a manner consistent with the guidance."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the operations of Behavioral Medical Systems, Inc."

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on the Department of Defense's (DOD) Military Housing Privatization Initiative, focusing on the: (1) status of the housing privatization initiative; (2) accuracy of the services' life-cycle cost analyses comparing the cost of proposed privatization projects to comparable projects financed through military construction funds; and (3) progress DOD is making in coordinating and integrating the initiative with other family housing programs."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Congress has established, or "designated," 24 national heritage areas to recognize the value of their local traditions, history, and resources to the nation's heritage. These areas, including public and private lands, receive funds and assistance through cooperative agreements with the National Park Service, which has no formal program for them. They also receive funds from other agencies and nonfederal sources, and are managed by local entities. Growing interest in new areas has raised concerns about rising federal costs and the risk of limits on private land use. GAO was asked to review the (1) process for designating heritage areas, (2) amount of federal funding to these areas, (3) process for overseeing areas' activities and use of federal funds, and (4) effects, if any, they have on private property rights."