Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the steps needed to improve financial management at the Department of Defense (DOD), focusing on: (1) the impact of financial management weaknesses on DOD's ability to efficiently and economically carry out its operations; (2) efforts DOD has initiated, and additional actions that are necessary, to improve financial management systems and controls in the short term; and (3) enhancements needed in updating DOD's Biennial Financial Management Improvement Plan--its long-term blueprint for financial management reform."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the: (1) impact of the year 2000 challenge on the nation's emergency and state and local law enforcement systems; and (2) Department of Justice (DOJ) and the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion efforts to facilitate remediation and contingency planning and to gauge the year 2000 readiness of these two important sectors."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed quality-of-care and consumer protection issues in assisted living facilities in California, Florida, Ohio, and Oregon, focusing on: (1) residents' needs and the services provided in assisted living facilities; (2) the extent to which facilities provide consumers with sufficient information for them to choose a facility that is appropriate for their needs; (3) the four states' approaches to oversight of assisted living; and (4) the types of quality-of-care and consumer protection problems they identify."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the: (1) accuracy, completeness, and usefulness of the information Medicare managed care organizations (MCO) distribute about their plans' benefit packages; (2) extent to which MCOs inform beneficiaries of their plan appeal rights and the appeals process; and (3) Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) review, approval, and oversight of the plan information that MCOs distribute."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the readiness of automated systems that support the nation's delivery of health benefits and services to function reliably without interruption through the turn of the century."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed small business tax issues, focusing on the: (1) federal filing, reporting, and deposit requirements that apply to small businesses; (2) actual experience of small businesses in meeting these requirements, including their involvement in the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) enforcement processes; (3) burden small businesses can face in complying; and (4) IRS' efforts to reduce small businesses' compliance burden and improve customer service, especially IRS' planned reorganization."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO discussed the threat of corruption to Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and Customs Service employees along the Southwest Border, focusing on: (1) the extent to which INS and the Customs Service have and comply with policies and procedures for ensuring employee integrity; (2) an identification and comparison of the Departments of Justice's and the Treasury's organizational structures, policies, and procedures for handling allegations of drug-related employee misconduct and whether the policies and procedures are followed; (3) an identification of the types of illegal drug-related activities in which INS and Customs employees on the Southwest Border have been convicted; and (4) the extent to which lessons learned from corruption cases closed in fiscal years 1992 through 1997 have led to changes in policies and procedures for preventing the drug-related corruption of INS and Customs employees."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed its past work involving security at Department of Energy's (DOE) facilities."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the management challenges facing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and its progress in implementing its new restructuring initiative."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the results of its ongoing examination of the safety and efficacy of the anthrax vaccine, focusing on: (1) the short- and long-term safety of the vaccine; (2) the efficacy of the vaccine; and (3) problems the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found in the vaccine production facility in Michigan that could compromise the safety, efficacy, and quality of the vaccine."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the implementation of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the year 2000 risks facing the nation, focusing on: (1) the federal government's progress and remaining challenges in correcting its systems; (2) state and local government year 2000 issues; and (3) an overview of the available information on the readiness of key public infrastructure and economic sectors."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the key elements of partnerships between the federal government and the private sector, focusing on: (1) some of the weaknesses that are making it necessary for agencies to think strategically when managing buildings and facilities; and (2) the key elements and related experiences of the 6 federal partnerships that were created to meet these challenges."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Initiative, focusing on: (1) how much and for what purposes federal funding has been provided for the restoration of the South Florida ecosystem; and (2) how well the restoration effort is being coordinated and managed."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) year 2000 readiness, focusing on: (1) VA's ability to deliver benefits and health care services through the turn of the century; and (2) the readiness of automated systems that support such delivery, the compliance status of biomedical equipment used in patient care, and the year 2000 readiness of the pharmaceutical and medical-surgical manufacturers upon which VA relies."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) fiscal year (FY) 2000 budget request and the status of the 1999 filing season."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the remaining year 2000 computing challenges facing the federal government, focusing on the: (1) actions that the federal government has taken to improve its year 2000 approach; (2) status of the federal government's remediation of its mission-critical systems, with a particular focus on those that are not yet compliant; (3) reported status of state-administered federal programs; and (4) remaining challenges facing the government in ensuring the continuity of business operations, namely end-to-end testing and contingency planning."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) management controls over four block grant programs, focusing on whether: (1) HUD's monitoring of grantees under the Grants Management System is adequate; and (2) the Integrated Disbursement and Information Systems (IDIS) provides the data HUD needs to accurately assess grantees' performance."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) International Space Station and the status of Russian involvement in the program, focusing on NASA's efforts to: (1) develop a contingency plan to mitigate the possibility of unforeseen problems, including future Russian nonperformance; (2) ensure that Russian quality assurance and manufacturing processes are acceptable; and (3) control prime contract and nonprime activity costs."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) efforts to address the year 2000 computer problem, focusing on the: (1) year 2000 readiness of automated systems that support the delivery of benefits and health care services; (2) compliance status of biomedical equipment used in patient care; and (3) year 2000 readiness of the pharmaceutical and medical-surgical manufacturers upon which VA relies. In discussing biomedical equipment and pharmaceutical manufacturers, GAO provided information on the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) year 2000 efforts."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed: (1) the immediate effects of the Melissa virus and variations of it as well as its broader implications for the federal government; and (2) critical measures that should be taken to ensure that federal departments and agencies are better prepared for future viruses and other forms of attack."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Customs Service's management of its Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) system."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed federal agencies' progress in addressing the year 2000 computing challenge and outlined actions needed to ensure a smooth conversion to the next century, focusing on the: (1) status of the federal government's remediation of its mission-critical systems; (2) remaining challenges facing the government in ensuring the continuity of business operations, namely end-to-end testing and business continuity and contingency planning; (3) Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) efforts to identify the government's high-impact programs; and (4) readiness of state systems that are essential to the delivery of federal human services programs."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) federal crop insurance program, focusing on whether USDA: (1) has set adequate insurance rates to achieve the legislative requirement of actuarial soundness; (2) appropriately reimburses participating crop insurance companies for their administrative costs; (3) can deliver catastrophic crop insurance at less cost to the government than private insurance companies; and (4) has established methodologies in the revenue insurance plans that set sound premium rates."