A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The nation faces a complex challenge in addressing recent trends in children's health and eating habits. To address these trends, in 2001, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a call to action to prevent and decrease overweight and obesity among all Americans, especially children. In this statement, schools were identified as one of the key settings for public health strategies to address these issues. The National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs provide millions of children with nutritious meals each school day. The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) administers these programs at the federal level, and FNS subsidizes the meals served through these programs in local schools as long as the meals meet certain nutritional guidelines. In the last decade, these nutritional guidelines were amended to require schools to serve meals that adhere to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which limit total and saturated fat and provide specific minimum levels of vitamins and nutrients. Despite these efforts to improve the nutritional quality of meals offered through the school meal programs, other foods not provided through these programs are often available to …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, insurance coverage for terrorism largely disappeared. Congress passed the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) in 2002 to help commercial property-casualty policyholders obtain terrorism insurance and give the insurance industry time to develop mechanisms to provide such insurance after the act expires on December 31, 2005. Under TRIA, the Department of Treasury caps insurer liability and would process claims and reimburse insurers for a large share of losses from terrorist acts that Treasury certified as meeting certain criteria. As Treasury and industry participants have operated under TRIA for more than a year, GAO was asked to describe (1) their progress in implementing the act and (2) changes in the terrorism insurance market under TRIA."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) is a retirement savings and investment plan for federal employees, governed by the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (the TSP Board). Recent events relating to the TSP Board's contract to upgrade TSP's record keeping system have raised questions about the management of the TSP. In light of the TSP Board's actions relating to the record keeping system and the recent submission of the TSP Board's legislative proposal that would enhance its independence, Congressional requesters asked us to examine federal oversight of the TSP Board. Specifically, our objectives were to (1) describe the Department of Labor's (DOL) oversight authority, under the Federal Employees' Retirement System Act of 1986 (FERSA) and (2) determine the actions DOL has taken in exercising its authority over TSP."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Although Social Security's benefit and contribution provisions are neutral with respect to race, ethnicity, and gender, concerns about the experiences of minority groups under Social Security focus on whether they benefit less than whites, particularly because of the shorter life expectancy of blacks. These concerns are related to the concept of equity, or how benefits compare with taxes. To gain a thorough understanding of the experiences of minority populations under Social Security, GAO was asked to examine (1) what socioeconomic and demographic factors influence Social Security taxes paid and benefits received and (2) how different equity measures compare across racial groups. Because of the current system's projected actuarial deficit, to conduct this study, GAO made its calculations using three policy scenarios, each of which achieves 75-year solvency: a payroll tax increase and a progressive and proportional benefit cut. Further, GAO used three measures of equity: lifetime benefit-to-tax ratios, net lifetime benefits, and real internal rates of return. GAO also examined four birth cohorts: 1931-40, 1941-45, 1946-55, and 1956-64."

A briefing report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The attacks of September 11, 2001, and recent anthrax exposures have heightened long-standing concerns about the proliferation of biological weapons and the United States' ability to quickly respond to such incidents. The United States must identify technologies to protect against biological weapons, such as anthrax, without harming humans. Ionizing radiation has emerged as the leading current technology for mail sanitization. However, ionizing radiation may have adverse effects on mailed material, and it may not be applicable to some types of parcels, boxes, and large packages. In addition, applying ionizing radiation in a mail-processing environment requires radiation and biohazard precautions, such as shielding the radiation source and wearing protective gear."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In addition to protecting investors and the integrity of the securities market, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), along with the Department of Commerce, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), and the Department of Agriculture, monitors and enforces the nation's trade agreements. Markets have become more complex, global, and technology-driven. At the same time SEC's workload is growing at a rate much faster than staffing. Workload and staffing imbalances have affected most aspects of SEC's regulatory and supervisory activities, from its inhouse technological capabilities to its enforcement actions against market participants. Other agencies that monitor U.S. trade agreements also face human capital challenges. Since the early 1980s, the United States has entered into several hundred trade agreements that have dramatically increased monitoring and enforcement workloads at USTR, Commerce, and Agriculture. This workload has continued to grow during the past two years as a result of major multilateral, regional, and bilateral trade negotiations. These agencies' efforts to monitor and enforce trade agreements are hampered by a lack of sufficient staff with appropriate expertise. Furthermore, they did not receive adequate support from other agencies and had difficulty obtaining …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Welfare reform significantly changed federal policy for low-income families with children and established a five-year lifetime limit on cash assistance. Welfare reform also extended transitional Medicaid assistance through 2001. States have implemented various initiatives to help families move from cash assistance to the workforce, including some enhancements to transitional Medicaid. These initiatives likely helped to cut cash assistance caseloads by more than half from 1996 through mid-2001. Low-wage or part-time jobs--which are common for newly working individuals--often do not come with affordable health insurance, thus making transitional Medicaid coverage an important option. The implementation of transitional Medicaid assistance varied across the 21 states that GAO reviewed. State practices enhanced beneficiaries' ability to retain Medicaid coverage. However, many families did not receive their full transitional Medicaid assistance benefits because they failed to report their income three times during the 12-month period of coverage. Amending the Medicaid statute to provide states with greater flexibility to ease income-reporting requirements, as has been done for other aspects of the Medicaid program, could facilitate uninterrupted health insurance coverage for families moving from cash assistance to the workforce."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "U. S. broadcast television stations are now switching from analog to digital television (DTV). The transition to digital technologies was sought by many broadcasters and was mandated by Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). FCC established 2006 as the target date for ending analog transmissions---a deadline later codified by Congress. At least 24 percent of all commercial television stations are now broadcasting a digital signal. However, these stations report little interest in receiving DTV. Transitioning stations reported that funding was one of the most prevalent problems. Seventy-four percent of transitioning stations indicated that the problems they are facing are so significant that they may not be able to begin broadcasting a DTV signal by May 2002, as required. Sixty-eight percent of transitioning stations said that a realistic extension for them would be one year or more. Thirty-one percent of the transitioning stations that said they might miss their May 2002 deadline reported that, if the transition were driven by market forces such as competition, technology, and consumer demand, they likely would not be on the air with a digital signal until after 2010. Another four …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) provided $23 billion in monthly cash benefits to 3.2 million disabled veterans and their families through its compensation and pension program in fiscal year 2001. In the same year, VBA mailed 1.2 million "notification" letters to veterans and their families, informing them of VBA's decisions on compensation or pension benefits claims filed. VBA also sent 1.2 million "development" letters in fiscal year 2001 requesting information in order to make a decision on claims. VBA found in 1995 that its notification and development letters failed to communicate adequately, and launched an initiative, called Reader-Focused Writing, to improve its written communications. In its letters, VBA clearly explained some, but not all, of the key aspects that claimants needed to understand. Beyond the lack of clarity in these letters, various writing deficiencies, such as sequencing and formatting problems, reduced the value of VBA's letters. First, in many of its rating decision documents and development letters, VBA attempts to achieve more than one objective and, in doing so, compromises clarity for the reader. Second, although VBA's central office and some regional offices have developed boilerplate …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 changed the nation's cash assistance program for needy families with children by replacing the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program, with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant. As specified in PRWORA, TANF's goals include ending the dependence of families receiving government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage; preventing and reducing the incidence of non-marital pregnancies; and encouraging two-parent families. Contracting with nongovernmental entities to provide TANF-funded services occurs in most states and exceeded $1.5 billion in federal and state funds in 2001. A GAO survey indicated that the most commonly contracted services included education and training, job placement, and support services to promote job entry or retention. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) relies primarily on state single audit reports to oversee TANF contracting by states and localities. HHS officials told GAO that their regional offices follow up on the TANF deficiencies identified and that HHS focuses on reported deficiencies that involve unallowable or questionable costs. However, HHS officials said that they do not know the extent …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed events related to personnel reassignments, appointments, and activities at the Small Business Administration (SBA)."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Social Security Administration's (SSA) new rule on Old-age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance and Supplemental Social Security Income for the aged, blind, and disabled. GAO noted that: (1) the rule would revise the monthly earnings guidelines for determining when earnings demonstrate the ability to engage in substantial gainful activity (SGA); (2) specifically, the final rule raises from $500 to $700 the average monthly earnings guidelines used to determine whether work done by persons with impairments other than blindness is SGA; and (3) SSA complied with the applicable requirements in promulgating the rule."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the challenges facing the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) in addressing the year 2000 problem."