Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the proposed Service Acquisition Reform Act and found that additional training for the acquisition workforce is needed governmentwide. Agencies could improve the capacity of the acquisition workforce by focusing on such key areas as requirements, inventory, workforce strategies and plans, and progress evaluations. GAO did not examine how pay-for-performance and pay banding would apply to acquisition personnel. However, these practices are consistent with suggestions made in earlier GAO testimony."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The recent sudden and largely unexpected bankruptcy of the Enron Corporation, and financial difficulties experienced by several other large corporations have resulted in substantial losses to employees and shareholders. Many believe that the decline of Enron and other instances of financial statement earnings restatements and bankruptcies have seriously undermined investor confidence in the nation's financial markets and external auditors. The findings from GAO's forum on corporate governance, transparency, and accountability."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the Bureau of Prisons to determine whether it had made overpayments to contractors. During fiscal year 2001, the Bureau of Prisons had 24 open construction contracts that totaled about $1.9 billion. In addition to general disbursement controls, GAO found internal controls specific to construction contracts in which both the project representative and the contracting officer must approve each monthly progress payment invoice. GAO sampled 27 payments on five construction contracts to determine if construction contract payment controls were properly designed, in place, and operating to prevent or detect overpayments. GAO found that the internal controls were in place and operating and construction contract payment amounts were correct, or, if errors occurred, they were detected and corrected promptly as a normal part of the payment system. A few minor clerical errors were subsequently detected and corrected by the Bureau of Prisons through its own routine control procedures before GAO made its review. GAO concludes that the risk of undetected construction contractor overpayments at the Bureau of Prisons appears to be small."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "After the National Instant Criminal Background System (NICS) has given the go ahead to a gun sale, it is still possible for the FBI to receive information from local law enforcement, the courts, or other sources that would prohibit a purchaser from owning a firearm. In these cases, the licensed dealer must be contacted to verify whether the purchaser received the firearm. If so, the local police department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) are then notified. In these case, ATF guidance requires an investigation and the retrieval of the firearm in coordination with state or local law enforcement. Retained records that were more than one day old but less than 90 days old were used to initiate more than 100 firearm retrievals in the four-month period beginning July 2001, according to FBI officials. As a result, next-day destruction of NICS records could impair the ability of law enforcement to retrieve firearms from persons who were wrongly approved to purchase them."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The National Interagency Canada Lynx Survey (Protocol) was designed to determine the presence of Canada lynx through deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analysis of hair samples recovered from scratch pads in forests in the northern United States. Beginning in January 2002, GAO investigated the submission of unauthorized samples to the University of Montana's laboratory as part of the National Survey and investigated whether the biologists involved had communications about their submissions. GAO found were four instances in which unauthorized hair samples, not obtained from the Wenatchee and Gifford Pinchot National Forests, were submitted for DNA testing as part of the National Survey for those forests. These included one submission on bobcat hair in 1999, and three submissions of lynx hair in September and October 2000. The biologists maintain that they submitted these samples to test the accuracy of the work done by the laboratory, although they knew that the Protocol for the National Survey did not provide for such action. They also said that they did not have the authority to make these submissions and that they were aware that they had alternatives for testing the laboratory other than submitting …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) spent about $3.1 billion on long-term care in fiscal year 2001, This amount is likely to increase as the veteran population ages. VA provides or pays for long-term care in institutional settings, such as nursing homes, or in veteran's own homes and other community locations. The Veterans Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act of 1999 required VA to offer long-term care services to eligible veterans, including in noninstitutional settings. More than two years after the act's passage, VA has not completely met the act's requirement that all eligible veterans be offered adult day health care, respite care, and geriatric evaluation. Although VA published draft regulations that would make these three services available, the regulations were not finalized as of March 2002. To respond to the act's requirements before its draft regulations were finalized, VA issued a policy directive making these three services available in noninstitutional settings. At the time of GAO's review, however, access to these services was far from universal. Moreover, the availability of all VA noninstitutional long-term care services, including the newly required services, is uneven across the VA system."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Under the Federal Acquisition Regulation and the Department of Energy's (DOE) acquisition regulations, DOE can reimburse its contractors for reasonable legal costs associated with cases brought against them in such matters as equal opportunity employment, radiation and toxic exposure, personal injury, and wrongful discharge. Such costs are not reimbursable if there is liability related to the contractor's willful misconduct, lack of good faith, or failure to exercise prudent business judgment. In practice, DOE reimburses its contractors for most of the legal costs. From fiscal year 1995 through the third quarter of fiscal year 2001, there have been more than 2,100 cases and DOE has reimbursed its contractors more than $290 million for associated litigation and disposition costs. The contractors have spent $13 million in their defense. In the same time period, there have been nearly 400 equal employment opportunity cases for which DOE reimbursed its contractors $53 million. The contractors spent $2 million."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Law enforcement officials rely on new technologies to accomplish their enforcement responsibilities. Although the use of some of these technologies has raised privacy concerns, the attacks of September 11 have prompted calls for the use of surveillance technologies to combat terrorism and other crimes that threaten security. This report discusses the government's funding of research and deployment of three surveillance technologies--facial recognition, red light cameras, and photo radar devices. GAO surveyed 35 federal entities, 17 of which had conducted research and development or testing of one or more of the three technologies. They reported obligating $51 million as of June 2001, with the largest amount reported for facial recognition. All of the 17 respondents obligated funds for research and development, none used funds for deployment, and two promoted the technologies but did not obligate any funds."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the small group health insurance market to identify the number of licensed carriers, the largest carriers, and their market share in each state. GAO found that (1) the median number of licensed carriers in the small group market per state was 28, (2) the median market share of the largest carrier was about 33 percent, (3) the five largest carriers, when combined, represented three-quarters or more of the market in 19 of the 34 states reviewed and they represented more than 90 percent in seven states, (4) 25 of 37 states identified Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) carrier as the largest carrier offering health insurance in the small group market, and (5) the median market share of all the BCBS carriers in the 34 states supplying information was about 34 percent."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This annual performance and accountability report assesses GAO's accomplishments in fiscal year 2001 and describes the agency's plans for continued progress through fiscal year 2003. In the last year, GAO's work resulted in a number of significant improvements to government that will benefit all Americans. By acting on GAO's recommendations, the government achieved a number of significant improvements to government, including (1) protecting patients in mental health facilities, (2) reducing nuclear waste treatment costs, (3) controlling pollution, (4) informing the debate over aviation security, (5) improving accountability over defense inventory, (6) strengthening federal information security, (7) improving collection of nontax debt, (8) focusing attention on major management challenges and high-risk issues, (9) identifying strategies for a more cost-effective census, (10) strengthening relationships with GAO's clients and stakeholders, (11) aligning GAO's resources with its strategic goals, and (12) aligning human capital policies and practices to support GAO's mission. GAO also provided information critical to the public debate on counterterrorism efforts and called attention to looming problems, such as the human capital crisis facing the federal workforce and information technology issues. Taxpayers benefited from the $26 billion in …

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO provided information on the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board's statement of federal financial accounting standards (SFFAS). This statement clarifies requirements of SFFAS, especially SFFAS No. 7."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The recent, rapid growth in Internet-based computer technologies has significant implications for the United States. The ability to conduct business via the Internet has brought about changes in the way companies do business with each other and in how they interact with consumers. The Internet allows businesses and consumers from different countries to interact as easily as if they were physically close to each other. This borderless aspect of international electronic commerce creates a wider marketplace that facilitates new transactions and business relationships. However, the potential for widespread adoption of international electronic commerce raises questions from the technical to the policy-related. This report provides information on emerging electronic commerce issues, including: (1) what is being done to remove obstacles and facilitate international electronic commerce, (2) efforts to adopt a legal framework for international electronic commerce transactions, and (3) how international trade agreements and negotiations address barriers to international electronic commerce."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Financial management problems at the Department of Defense (DOD) are complex, long-standing, and deeply rooted throughout its business operations. DOD's financial management deficiencies represent the single largest obstacle to achieving an unqualified opinion on the U.S. government's consolidated financial statements. So far, none of the military services or major DOD components have passed the test of an independent financial audit because of pervasive weaknesses in financial management systems, operations, and controls. These problems go back decades, and earlier attempts at reform have been unsuccessful. DOD continues to rely on a far-flung, complex network of finance, logistics, personnel, acquisition, and other management information systems for financial data to support day-to-day management and decision-making. This network has evolved into an overly complex and error-prone operation with (1) little standardization across DOD components, (2) multiple systems performing the same tasks, (3) the same data stored in multiple systems, (4) manual data entry into multiple systems, and (5) a large number of data translations and interfaces, which combine to exacerbate problems with data integrity. Many of the elements that are crucial to financial management reform and business process transformation--particularly those that rely …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) oversees 2.2 million miles of pipelines that transport potentially dangerous materials, such as oil and natural gas. OPS has been slow to improve its oversight of the pipeline industry and implement critical pipeline safety improvements. As a result, OPS has the lowest rate of any transportation agency for implementing the recommendations of the National Transportation Safety Board. In recent years, OPS has taken several steps to improve its oversight of the pipeline industry, including requiring "integrity management" programs for individual operators to assess their pipelines for risks, take action to mitigate the risks, and develop program performance measures. OPS has also (1) revised forms and procedures to collect more complete and accurate data, which will enable OPS to better assess the causes of incidents and focus on the greatest risks to pipelines; (2) allowed more states to oversee a broader range of interstate pipeline safety activities; and (3) increased the use of fines. OPS has made progress in responding to recommendations from the Safety Board and statutory requirements, but some key open recommendations and requirements, such as requiring pipeline operators to periodically …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "E-government refers to operations that enhance delivery of government information and services. Enterprise architectures provides for successful delivery of e-government applications, which in turn promise improved government performance and accountability. Under the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) leadership, the president's fiscal year 2003 budget proposes 24 e-government initiatives, most involving multiple agencies. These initiatives have laudable goals, including the elimination of redundant, nonintegrated business operations and systems which could save billions of dollars. The success of these initiatives depends in large part on whether they are pursued within the context of enterprise architectures. Approved architectures for most of these initiatives do not currently exist. OMB has been a proponent of enterprise architectures and has recently devoted increased attention to them. However, it can and should play a larger role. The maturity framework and benchmark data about 116 departments, component agencies, and independent agencies GAO reviews in this testimony provide important baseline information against which targeted improvement across the government can be defined and measured."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) has been at the forefront of federal agencies in using the OMB Circular A-76 process. In 1995, DOD made it a priority to reduce operating costs and free funds for other needs. DOD has also augmented the A-76 program with what it terms strategic sourcing--a broader array of reinvention and reengineering options that may not necessarily involve A-76 competitions. The number of positions--at one point 229,000--that DOD planned to study and the time frames for the studies have varied. Current plans are to study about 183,000 positions between fiscal years 1997 and 2007. Changes in the inventory of commercial activities and the current administration's sourcing initiatives could change the number of positions studied in the future. However, GAO has not evaluated the extent to which these changes might occur. DOD's A-76 program has faced several challenges that may provide valuable lessons learned for other federal agencies. These lessons include the following: (1) studies took longer than initially projected, (2) costs and resources required for the studies were underestimated, (3) selecting and grouping functions to compete can be difficult, and (4) determining and maintaining …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the federal government's human capital challenges. The basic problem has been a longstanding lack of a consistent strategic approach to marshalling, managing, and maintaining the government's human capital needs. To overcome this problem, GAO has developed a model of strategic human capital management that highlights the importance of a sustained commitment by agency leaders to maximize the value of their workforce. The Office of Personnel Management and the Office of Management and Budget have developed tools to assess human capital management efforts that are conceptually consistent with GAO's model. GAO's model emphasizes two central principles. First, people are assets whose value can be enhanced through investment. As with any investment, the goal is to maximize value while managing risk. Second, an organization's human capital approaches should be designed, implemented, and assessed by how well they help pursue its mission and achieve desired results. GAO has also identified a preliminary list of key practices that will enable agencies to acquire, develop, and retain talent. Successful organizational change depends on a willingness by agency leaders to embrace strategic human capital management and related change management approaches."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Many people are homeless for only a short time and get back on their feet with minimal assistance, but others are chronically homeless and need intensive and ongoing assistance. Fifty federal programs exist to help the homeless with housing. Sixteen of these are targeted exclusively to the homeless, and the others are mainstream programs. Targeted programs were funded at $1.7 billion in fiscal year 2001. GAO found that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has been unable to ensure that adequate coordination occurs among the programs without creating undue administrative burdens for the states and communities. Steps have been taken to improve the coordination of homeless assistance programs within communities and to reduce some of the administrative burdens caused by separate programs. Although low-income populations face barriers to obtaining services provided by mainstream programs, these barriers are compounded by homelessness. In addition, the underlying structure and operations of federal mainstream programs do not ensure that the special needs of homeless people are met. Consolidating HUD's McKinney-Vento programs could help reduce the administrative burden. However, to end chronic homelessness in 10 years, federal agencies must strive to …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 seek to minimize pervasive information security weaknesses that place federal operations at significant risk of disruption, tampering, fraud, and inappropriate disclosure of sensitive information. Increases in computer interconnectivity, especially in the use of the Internet, pose significant risks to computer systems and to the critical operations and infrastructures they support, such as telecommunications, power distribution, public health, national defense, law enforcement, and emergency services. Although federal agencies have taken steps to redesign and strengthen their information security programs, federal systems are not being adequately protected from computer-based threats, even though these systems process, store, and transmit enormous amounts of sensitive data and are indispensable to many federal agency operations."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO provided information on the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board's statement of federal financial accounting concepts (SFFAC). The statement identifies and describes the characteristics of the target audience for the Consolidated Financial Report of the U.S. Government."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Federal, state, and local governments share responsibility for terrorist attacks. However, local government, including police and fire departments, emergency medical personnel, and public health agencies, is typically the first responder to an incident. The federal government historically has provided leadership, training, and funding assistance. In the aftermath of September 11, for instance, one-quarter of the $40 billion Emergency Response Fund was earmarked for homeland security, including enhancing state and local government preparedness. Because the national security threat is diffuse and the challenge is highly intergovernmental, national policymakers must formulate strategies with a firm understanding of the interests, capacity, and challenges facing those governments. The development of a national strategy will improve national preparedness and enhance partnerships between federal, state, and local governments. The creation of the Office of Homeland Security is an important and potentially significant first step. The Office of Homeland Security's strategic plan should (1) define and clarify the appropriate roles and responsibilities of federal, state, and local entities; (2) establish goals and performance measures to guide the nation's preparedness efforts; and (3) carefully choose the most appropriate tools of government to implement the national strategy …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Enhancing homeland security is a complex effort that involves all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the territories; thousands of municipalities; and countless private entities. Since September 11, the nation has taken many actions to combat terrorism and enhance homeland security. It is well known that the U.S. military is conducting operations in Afghanistan. Various legislative and executive branch actions to enhance homeland security have been taken or were underway prior to and since September 11. Government and nongovernment activities are looking to the Office of Homeland Security for further guidance on how to better integrate their missions and more effectively contribute to the overarching homeland security effort. Having a common definition can help avoid duplication of effort and gaps in coverage by identifying agency roles and responsibilities. Although the agencies are looking for guidance, they also want to ensure that their unique missions are factored in as guidance is developed. At the same time, some agencies are unsure what they should be doing beyond their traditional missions. Once the national strategy is issued, federal, state, and local government agencies and private sector groups will need to …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Service Acquisition Reform Act of 2002 seeks to strengthen the acquisition workforce by moving toward a performance-based contracting environment and improving service acquisitions management. During the past decade, federal agencies have substantially increased their purchases of services, particularly for information technology and professional, administrative, and management support. In fiscal year 2001 alone, the federal government acquired $109 billion in services. This money, however, is not always well-spent. GAO continues to find that defense and civilian acquisitions are poorly planned, not adequately completed, and poorly managed. Some leading companies have changed their approach to acquiring services after finding themselves spending a lot of money on services without knowing how much was being spent and where these dollars were going. GAO found that these companies were able to turn this situation around by adopting a more strategic perspective to service spending. Each company focused more on what was good for the company as a whole rather than just individual business units, and each began making decisions using enhanced knowledge about service spending. The companies analyzed their spending services to answer basic questions about how much was being spent and …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Federal, state, and local governments share responsibility in preparing for catastrophic terrorist attacks. Because the national security threat is diffuse and the challenge is intergovernmental, national policymakers need a firm understanding of the interests, capacity, and challenges when formulating antiterrorism strategies. Key aspects of this strategy should include a definition and clarification of the appropriate roles and responsibilities of federal, state, and local entities. GAO has found fragmentation and overlap among federal assistance programs. More than 40 federal entities have roles in combating terrorism, and past federal efforts have resulted in a lack of accountability, a lack of cohesive effort, and program duplication. This situation has led to confusion, making it difficult to identify available federal preparedness resources and effectively partner with the federal government. Goals and performance measures should be established to guide the nation's preparedness efforts. For the nation's preparedness programs, however, outcomes have yet to be defined in terms of domestic preparedness. Given the recent and proposed increases in preparedness funding, real and meaningful improvements in preparedness and establishing clear goals and performance measures are critical to ensuring a successful and a fiscally responsible effort. …