A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government is increasingly using online applications to provide access to information and services and to conduct internal business operations. In light of this trend, strong security assurances are needed to properly safeguard sensitive, personal, and financial data, in part by ensuring that the identities of those who use such applications are appropriately authenticated. When fully and properly implemented, public key infrastructure (PKI) offers many of these assurances. In 2001, GAO reported that the federal government faces a number of challenges in deploying PKI technology (GAO-01-277). GAO was requested to follow up this work by (1) determining the status of federal PKI activities, including initiatives planned or under way at 24 major federal departments and agencies, as well as the status and planned activities of the Federal Bridge Certification Authority (FBCA) and Access Certificates for Electronic Services (ACES) programs, and (2) identifying challenges encountered by the 24 agencies in implementing PKI initiatives since the 2001 report was issued. In commenting on a draft of this report, GSA and OMB officials generally agreed with its content and conclusions. Technical comments provided by OMB have been addressed …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In the fall of 2001, letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to news media personnel and congressional officials, leading to the first cases of anthrax infection related to an intentional release of anthrax in the United States. Outbreaks of anthrax infection were concentrated in six locations, or epicenters, in the country. An examination of the public health response to the anthrax incidents provides an important opportunity to apply lessons learned from that experience to enhance the nation's preparedness for bioterrorism. Because of its interest in bioterrorism preparedness, Congress asked GAO to review the public health response to the anthrax incidents. Specifically, GAO determined (1) what was learned from the experience that could help improve public health preparedness at the local and state levels and (2) what was learned that could help improve public health preparedness at the federal level and what steps have been taken to make those improvements."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Testifying before Congress in 2002, military beneficiary groups and civilian managed care support contractors described problems with the processing of TRICARE claims for civilian-provided care. These problems included slow payments and procedures that made claims processing inefficient. The Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act of 2003 required GAO to review improvements to TRICARE claims processing and continuing impediments to claims processing efficiency. Specifically, GAO describes (1) efforts to improve claims processing and changes in processing timeliness and (2) Department of Defense (DOD) procedures and data that continue to affect claims processing efficiency. To identify improvements to claims processing and impediments to processing efficiency, GAO analyzed 1999 and 2002 claims data for changes in processing timeliness. GAO also interviewed and analyzed claims processing documentation from DOD officials, managed care support contractors, and claims processors."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government faces large losses in its Senior Executive Service (SES), primarily through retirement but also because of other normal attrition. This presents the government with substantial challenges to ensuring an able management cadre and also provides opportunities to affect the composition of the SES. In a January 2003 report, GAO-03-34, GAO estimated the number of SES members who would actually leave service through fiscal year 2007 and reviewed the implications for diversity, as defined by gender, race, and ethnicity of the estimated losses. Specifically, GAO estimated by gender, race, and ethnicity the number of members of the career SES who will leave government service from October 1, 2000, through September 30, 2007, and what the profile of the SES will be if appointment trends do not change. GAO made the same estimates for the pool of GS-15s and GS-14s, from whose ranks the vast majority of replacements for departing SES members come, to ascertain the likely composition of that pool."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In 2002, the Social Security Administration (SSA) issued nearly 6 million new Social Security numbers (SSNs), of which 1.3 million were issued to noncitizens. Despite its narrowly intended purpose, the SSN has in practice become the national identifier. SSNs are key pieces of information in creating false identities, underscoring the importance of issuing SSNs only to those eligible for them and of protecting those already assigned to individuals. The flow of noncitizens into the United States and the accompanying number of SSNs issued to them over the last several years add to the importance of having sound practices to avoid issuing SSNs to those who do not qualify for them. Congress asked GAO to describe and assess SSA's key initiatives to ensure the appropriate issuance of SSNs to noncitizens and identify vulnerabilities to error or fraud SSA has not yet addressed."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The multibillion dollar Airport and Airway Trust Fund (Trust Fund) provides most of the funding for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The Trust Fund relies on revenue from 10 taxes, including passenger ticket, fuel, and cargo taxes. Concerns about the financial outlook of the Trust Fund have emerged recently given the downturn in passenger air travel, requests from the airlines to suspend some of the Trust Fund taxes, and the need to reauthorize FAA's major programs in 2003. GAO was asked to determine (1) the projected financial outlook of the Trust Fund and (2) how a 1- year suspension of various taxes accruing to the Trust Fund (i.e., a tax holiday), would affect its financial status. We were asked to assess five potential tax holidays that would have begun on April 1, 2003, and ended on April 1, 2004. GAO used a model developed by FAA that made financial projections for the Trust Fund using expenditure assumptions that were based on (1) the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation's May 2, 2003, and the House Subcommittee on Aviation's May 15, 2003, reauthorization proposals authorizing over …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Congress recognized the importance of building the capacity of community development organizations by passing Section 4 of the HUD Demonstration Act of 1993. The act authorized the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to partner with several national nonprofit organizations that provide funding to these community groups for such things as training, staff salaries, office equipment and supplies, and management information systems. In 2002, HUD provided $31 million for capacitybuilding activities. To help Congress with its oversight of Section 4, we reviewed the evolution and use of Section 4 funding, the importance of Section 4 funding to private sector involvement, and the management controls and measurements that are in place to assess Section 4."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense is spending nearly $18 billion annually to develop, acquire, and operate satellites and other space-related systems. The majority of satellite programs that GAO has reviewed over the past 2 decades experienced increased costs and delayed schedules. DOD has recently implemented a new acquisition management policy, which sets the stage for decision making on individual space programs. GAO was asked to assess the new policy."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Under 10 U.S.C. 2466, not more than 50 percent of each military department's annual depot maintenance funding can be used for work done by private-sector contractors. The Department of Defense (DOD) also must submit two reports to the Congress annually on the division of depot maintenance funding between the public and private sectors--one about the percentage of funds spent in the previous 2 fiscal years (prior-years report) and one about the current and 4 succeeding fiscal years (future-years report). As required, GAO reviewed the two DOD reports submitted in early 2003 and is, with this report, submitting its views to the Congress on whether (1) the military services met the so-called "50-50 requirement" for fiscal years 2001-2 and (2) the projections for fiscal years 2003-7 are reasonable estimates. GAO also identified opportunities to improve the reporting process."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Leading public organizations here and abroad recognize that a more strategic approach to human capital management is essential for change initiatives that are intended to transform their cultures. To that end, organizations are looking for ways to identify and develop the leaders, managers, and workforce necessary to face the array of challenges that will confront government in the 21st century. GAO conducted this study to identify how agencies in four countries--Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom--are adopting a more strategic approach to managing the succession of senior executives and other public sector employees with critical skills. These agencies' experiences may provide insights to executive branch agencies as they undertake their own succession planning and management initiatives. GAO identified the examples described in this report through discussions with officials from central human capital agencies, national audit offices, and agencies in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, and a screening survey sent to senior human capital officials at selected agencies."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "When taxpayers claim more withholding allowances than they are entitled to or improperly claim exemption from withholding, either no tax or too little tax is withheld from their wages. As a result, some taxpayers end up owing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) additional taxes, and if the taxes are not paid on time, they become delinquent. This report responds to a Congressional request for information on these taxpayers. Specifically, we provided information on (1) how many taxpayers claimed more than 10 allowances for federal income tax withholding purposes and (2) how many taxpayers claimed exemption from federal income tax withholding and, of those taxpayers, what proportion did not file federal income tax returns and had invalid Social Security numbers."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since September 11, 2001, more attention has been focused on the importance of identifying people who use false identity information or documents to obtain a driver license. The Social Security Administration (SSA) offers states a service to verify social security numbers (SSNs) collected during the driver licensing process. This report examines states' use of SSA's verification service, factors that may affect the usefulness of the service, and other tools states use or need to verify identity."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Over the years, Committees and members of Congress have requested information about employee equal opportunity and diversity issues at the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). This report follows up on our past reports concerning diversity issues at the USPS and responds to the request of the Ranking Minority Members of the House Committee on Government Reform and its Subcommittee on Civil Service and Agency Organization for more current information on the representation of minorities and women at the USPS. Our objective was to provide data on the makeup (numbers and percentages) for each equal employment opportunity (EEO) group--white, black, Hispanic, Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI), American Indian and Alaskan Native (AIAN), and Native Hawaiian (Hawaiian)--and gender group of USPS career employees for USPS fiscal years 2000 through 2002. Information contained in this report was obtained from USPS databases, which we deemed sufficiently reliable for the informational purpose of this engagement."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In June 2002, GAO reported that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) had not yet adequately revised its regulatory and oversight approach for the natural gas and electricity industries' transition from regulated monopolies to competitive markets. GAO also concluded that FERC faced significant human capital challenges to transform its workforce to meet such changes. In responding to the report, FERC said that the new Office of Market Oversight and Investigations (OMOI) it was creating and human capital improvements under way would address these concerns. GAO was asked to report on FERC's progress in (1) establishing an oversight and enforcement capability for competitive energy markets and (2) improving agency-wide human capital management."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Under Medicare's prospective payment system (PPS), home health agencies receive a single payment, adjusted to reflect the care needs of different types of patients, for providing up to 60 days of home health care. Some home health industry representatives have suggested that certain nonroutine medical supplies (such as wound-care dressings) should be excluded from this payment and reimbursed separately because of their high cost. The Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000 required GAO to examine home health agency payments for nonroutine medical supplies and recommend whether payment for any such supplies should be excluded from the PPS."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The density of the nation's forests, along with drought and other weather conditions, has fueled wildland fires that have required billions of dollars to suppress and has forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes. The Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Forest Service and the Department of the Interior (Interior) are collaborating on a long-term effort to reduce the risk these fires pose. GAO was asked, among other things, to (1) assess the agencies' efforts to determine which federal lands require fuels reduction treatments, (2) determine how lands are prioritized for treatment, and (3) assess how progress is measured and reported."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since September 11, 2001, visa operations have played an increasingly important role in ensuring the national security of the United States. The Departments of State, Homeland Security, and Justice, as well as other agencies, are involved in the visa process. Each plays an important role in making security decisions so that potential terrorists do not enter the country. In two GAO reports, we assessed the effectiveness of the visa process as an antiterrorism tool."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO has been providing ongoing assistance to the Capitol Preservation Commission and the Senate and House Appropriations Committees in their monitoring and oversight of the Capitol Visitor Center construction project. Given the current decisions facing the Congress, this testimony covers (1) management of the project, (2) the estimated cost for the project, (3) the status of the project's schedule, and (4) actions that Congress and the AOC should consider taking to address funding gaps and other current project issues and risks."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In 1986, the United States entered into a Compact of Free Association with the Pacific Island nations of the Federated States of Micronesia, or FSM, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands, or RMI. The Compact provided about $2.1 billion in U.S. funds, supplied by the Department of the Interior, over 17 years (1987-2003) to the FSM and the RMI. These funds were intended to advance economic development. In a past report, GAO found that this assistance did little to advance economic development in either country, and accountability over funding was limited. The Compact also established U.S. defense rights and obligations in the region and allowed for migration from both countries to the United States. The three parties recently renegotiated expiring economic assistance provisions of the Compact in order to provide an additional 20 years of assistance (2004-2023). In addition, the negotiations addressed defense and immigration issues. The House International Relations and Resources Committees requested that GAO report on Compact negotiations."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S.-South Korean Land Partnership Plan (LPP), signed in March 2002, was designed to consolidate U.S. installations, improve combat readiness, enhance public safety, and strengthen the U.S.-South Korean alliance by addressing some of the causes of periodic tension associated with the U.S. presence in South Korea. The Senate report on military construction appropriations for fiscal year 2003 directed GAO to review the LPP. GAO adjusted its review to also address the effect of ongoing reassessments of U.S. overseas presence upon the LPP and other infrastructure needs. In this report, GAO assessed (1) the scope of the LPP, (2) the implications on the LPP and other construction projects of proposals to change basing in South Korea, and (3) implementation challenges associated with the LPP that could affect future U.S. military construction projects in South Korea."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) is pursuing a new initiative involving a core competency approach for making sourcing decisions--that is, sourcing decisions based on whether the function is core to the agency's warfighting mission. In determining how to best perform non-core functions, DOD's position is that its components should look beyond just the use of public-private competitions under Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-76 in making sourcing decisions, and consider other alternatives such as partnering or employee stock ownership. GAO was asked to assess (1) the department's progress in assessing its core functions as a basis for sourcing decisions, (2) the plans and progress DOD has made in identifying and implementing alternatives to A-76, and (3) the current status of DOD's A-76 program."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since July 1998, GAO has reported numerous times on nursing home quality-of-care issues and identified significant weaknesses in federal and state oversight. GAO was asked to assess the extent of the progress made in improving the quality of care provided by nursing homes to vulnerable elderly and disabled individuals, including (1) trends in measured nursing home quality, (2) state responses to previously identified weaknesses in their survey, complaint, and enforcement activities, and (3) the status of oversight and quality improvement efforts by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Polar-orbiting environmental satellites provide data and imagery that are used by weather forecasters, climatologists, and the military to map and monitor changes in weather, climate, the ocean, and the environment. The current polar satellite program is a complex infrastructure that includes two satellite systems, supporting ground stations, and four central data processing centers. In the future, the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) is to merge the two current satellite systems into a single state-of-the-art environment monitoring satellite system. This new $7 billion satellite system is considered critical to the United States' ability to maintain the continuity of data required for weather forecasting and global climate monitoring through the year 2018. In its testimony GAO was asked, among other topics, to discuss risks to the success of the NPOESS deployment."

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."