A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In August 2001, the administration announced competitive sourcing as one of five initiatives in the President's Management Agenda. Under competitive sourcing, federal agencies open their commercial activities to competition among public and private sector sources. While competitive sourcing is expected to encourage innovation and improve efficiency and performance, it represents a major management change for most agencies. This report describes the progress selected agencies have made in establishing a competitive sourcing program, identifies major challenges these agencies are facing, and discusses strategies they are using to select activities for competition."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "To ensure that essential government services are available in emergencies--such as terrorist attacks, severe weather, or building-level emergencies-- federal agencies are required to develop continuity of operations (COOP) plans. Responsibility for formulating guidance on these plans and for assessing executive branch COOP capabilities lies with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), under the Department of Homeland Security. FEMA guidance, Federal Preparedness Circular (FPC) 65 (July 1999), provides elements of a viable COOP capability, including the requirement that agencies identify their essential functions. GAO was asked to determine the extent to which (1) major civilian executive branch agencies have identified their essential functions and (2) these agencies' COOP plans follow FEMA guidance."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The University of California (University) operates the Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The two research laboratories, with a combined fiscal year 2003 budget of $2.3 billion, have had problems in such mission support areas as managing projects, conducting business operations, and ensuring safe nuclear operations. GAO was asked to describe the actions taken to address mission support problems identified in 2001, as well as problems that have since emerged, and to assess the main challenges to sustaining mission support improvements."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Combined, the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provide health care services to about 12 million beneficiaries at an estimated cost of about $53 billion for fiscal year 2004--$26.7 billion for DOD and $26.5 billion for VA. In 1982 the Congress passed the VA and DOD Health Resources Sharing and Emergency Operations Act (Sharing Act) to promote more cost-effective use of health care resources and more efficient delivery of care. Specifically, the Congress authorized military treatment facilities and VA medical centers to enter into sharing agreements to buy, sell, and barter medical and support services. To further encourage on-going collaboration, the Congress, in section 721 of the Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2003, directed the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a joint incentives program to identify and provide incentives to implement, fund, and evaluate creative health care coordination and sharing initiatives between DOD and VA. To facilitate the program, each Secretary is required to contribute a minimum of $15 million from each department's appropriation into an account established in the U. S. …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 1999, Congress began authorizing the provision of U.S. foreign assistance funds to support programs aimed at strengthening democracy in China, and, in fiscal year 2002, it began appropriating specific amounts for such programs. However, the provision of foreign assistance funds to programs focusing on China continues to be controversial due to concern about some of the Chinese government's human rights practices and certain of its economic, political, and security policies. The House Committee on International Relations expressed concern about the lack of a complete picture of U.S. funding for democracy-related programs focused on China. In response to this concern, we determined how much funding the U.S. government has provided for programs intended to strengthen democracy in China for fiscal years 1999 to 2003, in total and by year, and identified the agencies responsible for administering the funds, as well as the intended purposes of the programs they support. While we focused primarily on bilateral programs, we also briefly describe democracy-related efforts of multilateral institutions that the United States helps support."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In the 1990s, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) undertook the Northeast High-Speed Rail Improvement Project to make infrastructure improvements that would enable Amtrak to meet a statutory goal of providing 3-hour intercity passenger rail service between Boston and New York City. Amtrak shared responsibility for implementing the project with commuter rail authorities and state governments, and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) developed a master plan for the project and provided federal funds to Amtrak. GAO reviewed (1) the status of the project, (2) Amtrak's management of the project, (3) FRA's oversight of the project, and (4) best practices for managing future large-scale rail infrastructure projects."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "No large U.S.-flagged cruise ships (ships registered in the U.S. that are U.S.-built, U.S.-owned, and U.S. crewed) are in operation. Foreignflagged vessels cruising to foreign ports serve most of the U.S. demand for cruises. However, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) recently obtained an exemption from U.S. maritime law to operate three foreign-built ships under the U.S. flag in Hawaii. Cruise lines and others have raised concerns over the advantage the exemption might confer to NCL, since foreign-flagged competitors are unable to offer the same itineraries due to the Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA), which prevents foreign vessels from transporting passengers solely between U.S. ports. Concerns have also been raised over the effect this exemption might have on future attempts to grow the U.S.-flag cruise vessel fleet, since potential U.S.-flag competitors would need to build ships in the United States, presumably at higher cost. GAO was asked to (1) review the original intent of the PVSA and rulings and decisions regarding it, (2) determine if the exemption will affect the implementation of the PVSA or other maritime laws, (3) assess the potential effects of the exemption on competition …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Under Medicare's home health prospective payment system (PPS), home health agencies (HHA) are paid a fixed amount, adjusted for differences in individual patients' expected care needs, for providing an episode (up to 60 days) of care. For this payment, HHAs provide therapy, skilled nursing, medical social service, and aide visits to patients in their homes. GAO previously reported that PPS payments to HHAs were significantly above Medicare costs. GAO recommended that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency that administers Medicare, modify the PPS to mitigate extreme financial gains and losses. HHA representatives have raised concerns that Medicare's PPS financially disadvantages certain urban and rural HHAs. GAO was asked to examine (1) whether Medicare payments cover HHAs' costs and (2) what factors distinguished financially weak HHAs from financially strong performers under Medicare. To address these issues, GAO used Medicare cost reports and claims data for freestanding HHAs. GAO analyzed Medicare margins--the difference between Medicare payments and Medicare costs, divided by Medicare payments."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "A declaration of bankruptcy is an extreme example of the failure to manage personal finances. Debtors who file personal bankruptcy petitions usually file under chapter 7 or chapter 13 of the bankruptcy code. Generally, debtors who file under chapter 7 of the bankruptcy code seek a discharge of all their eligible dischargeable debts. Debtors who file under chapter 13 submit a repayment plan, which must be confirmed by the bankruptcy court, for paying all or a portion of their debts over a 3-year period unless, for cause, the court approves a longer period not to exceed 5 years. This letter responds to the request of the Ranking Minority Member, Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia, Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs. We determined (1) the rate of personal bankruptcy filings among active duty military personnel, and how that rate compared with the rate found in the U.S. population; and (2) factors that should be considered when attempting to compare the rate of bankruptcy filings for active duty military personnel with the rate for the U.S. population."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Public safety concerns require that criminal history records be accurate, complete, and accessible. Among other purposes, such records are used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) to ensure that prohibited persons do not purchase firearms. Initiated in 1995, the National Criminal History Improvement Program represents a partnership among federal, state, and local agencies to build a national criminal records infrastructure. Under the program, the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) annually provides federal grants to states to improve the quality of records and their accessibility through NICS and other national systems maintained by the FBI. GAO examined (1) how states have used program grant funds, particularly the extent to which such funds have been used for NICS-related purposes; (2) the progress--using program grants and other funding sources--that states have made in automating criminal history and other relevant records and making them accessible nationally; and (3) the various factors that are relevant considerations for policymakers in debating the future of the program."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Health insurance premiums have increased at double-digit rates over the past few years. While searching for affordable options, some employers and individuals have purchased coverage from certain entities that are not authorized by state insurance departments to sell this coverage. Such unauthorized entities--also sometimes referred to as bogus entities or scams--may collect premiums and not pay some or all of the legitimate medical claims filed by policyholders. GAO was asked to identify the number of these entities that operated from 2000 through 2002, the number of employers and policyholders covered, the amount of unpaid claims, and the methods state and federal governments employed to identify such entities and to stop and prevent them from operating. GAO analyzed information on these entities obtained from the Department of Labor (DOL) and from a survey of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. GAO also interviewed officials at DOL headquarters, at three regional offices, and at state insurance departments responsible for investigating these entities in four states--Colorado, Florida, Georgia, and Texas."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In prior reports, GAO found differences in the percentages of foreign-controlled corporations (FCC) and U.S.-controlled corporations (USCC) reporting no tax liability. Based on concerns that FCCs could be avoiding taxes by improperly shifting income to lower tax countries, GAO was asked to compare, for the years 1996 through 2000, (1) FCCs and USCCs, based on the tax liabilities they reported on their U.S. income tax returns--including the percentages reporting zero liabilities--and (2) the differences in FCCs and USCCs in terms of age and industry concentration and the extent to which these differences might explain tax reporting patterns. The report provides information separately for large corporations--those with at least $250 million in assets or $50 million in gross receipts--because, while they account for only 1 percent of all corporations, they own over 93 percent of all assets reported on corporate returns."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Each year the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) receives thousands of Clean Water Act permit applications from project proponents wishing to fill waters and wetlands. The first step in the permitting process is to determine if the waters and wetlands are jurisdictional. Prior to 2001, if migratory birds used the waters or wetlands as habitat, they were usually jurisdictional. In 2001, the Supreme Court--in Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (SWANCC)--struck down the migratory bird rule, leaving the Corps to rely on other jurisdictional criteria. GAO was asked to describe the (1) regulations and guidance used to determine jurisdictional waters and wetlands and related developments since SWANCC, (2) extent to which Corps district offices vary in their interpretation of these regulations and guidance, and (3) extent to which Corps district offices document their practices and make this information publicly available."