Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed issues related to H.R. 4181, which would bar delinquent taxpayers from receiving federal contracts and loan assistance."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Department of Defense's (DOD) financial management reform, focusing on the challenges and initiatives that are in place or planned."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program, focusing on: (1) the program's acquisition strategy; and (2) whether the strategy is being implemented in a manner that will ensure that the acquisition strategy objectives will be achieved."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on on-line trading, focusing on: (1) the growth in on-line trading; (2) the extent to which on-line broker-dealers had experienced trading system delays and outages, including the causes of these problems and their reported effect on investors; and (3) how on-line broker-dealers address investor protection issues related to margin, privacy of information, risk disclosures, best execution, suitability, and advertising."

A briefing report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Overseas Private Investment Corporation's (OPIC) progress in improving the management of its investment funds program, focusing on: (1) how OPIC identifies and approves investment fund concepts and selects fund managers; (2) the funds' performance to date; and (3) the risk levels assigned to the funds."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the usage of the social security number (SSN), focusing on: (1) federal laws and regulations directing the number's use; (2) the non-federal purposes for which the number is used; and (3) what businesses and state governments believe the impact would be if federal laws limiting the use of SSNs were passed."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses the Preparedness Against Domestic Terrorism Act of 2001 (H.R. 525). To improve federal efforts to help state and local personnel prepare for domestic terrorist attacks, H.R. 525 would create a single focal point for policy and coordination--the President's Council on Domestic Terrorism Preparedness--within the White House. The new council would include the President, several cabinet secretaries, and other selected high-level officials. H.R. 525 would (1) create an executive director position with a staff that would collaborate with other executive agencies to assess threats, (2) require the new council to develop a national strategy, (3) require the new council to analyze and review budgets, and (4) require the new council to oversee implementation among the different federal agencies. Other proposals before Congress would also create a single focal point for terrorism. Some of these proposals place the focal point in the Executive Office of the President and others place it in a lead executive agency. Both locations have advantages and disadvantages."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The extent and quality of federal voter assistance for military personnel and overseas citizens varied considerably during the November 2000 election. The Department of Defense (DOD) has developed some useful information tools, but many overseas military personnel were unaware of them. Moreover, the military services did not always comply with DOD requirements to appoint and train Voting Assistance Officers, brief military personnel on how to go about voting, or maintain enough supplies of voting materials. Lack of emphasis by commanders and limited oversight by service Inspectors General and installation commanders appear to be the chief reasons why some military installations did not fully comply with DOD guidance on how voting assistance programs should be carried out. Many states have worked with DOD's Federal Voting Assistance Program to make it easier for military personnel and overseas citizens to register, obtain ballots, and vote; however, voters continue to face challenges. Information on the precise number of military and overseas absentee votes that local jurisdictions disqualified nationwide in the November 2000 election and the reasons for the disqualification is not available. Many local officials said that they did not track data …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Federal employees who report waste, fraud, and abuse shouldn't have to fear discrimination and retaliation. Despite laws designed to protect whistleblowers, some have experienced or believed that they have experienced reprisals. Proposed legislation--the Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2001--would provide additional protections for federal employees and would provide important data to decisionmakers. First, the act would require agencies to report the number of discrimination and whistleblower reprisal cases. Because of a lack of data, the federal government currently doesn't have a clear picture of the volume of discrimination and whistleblowing reprisal cases involving federal employees. Such data could be a starting point for agency managers to understand the nature and scope of issues in the workplace involving reprisals and discrimination. Second, the act would make agencies and their leaders accountable for providing fair and equitable workplaces. In addition, individuals would be held accountable for their actions in cases in which discrimination has occurred. Finally, the act would require agencies to notify employees in writing of their rights and protections. This provision reinforces existing requirements that employees be notified of the rights and remedies concerning …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO audited the financial statements for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's (FDIC) Bank Insurance Fund, Savings Association Insurance Fund, and FSLIC Resolution Fund for 2000 and 1999. GAO found that (1) the financial statements of each fund are presented fairly in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles; (2) although certain internal controls should be improved, FDIC had effective internal control over financial reporting and compliance with laws and regulations; and (3) there was no reportable noncompliance with the laws and regulations."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Medicare provides valuable and extensive health care coverage for beneficiaries. Nevertheless, significant gaps leave some beneficiaries vulnerable to sizeable financial burdens from out-of-pocket expenses. Medigap is a widely available source of supplemental coverage. This testimony discusses (1) beneficiaries' potential financial liability under Medicare's current benefit structure and cost-sharing requirements, (2) the cost of Medigap policies and the extent to which they provide additional coverage, and (3) concerns that Medigap's so-called "first dollar" coverage undermines the cost control incentives of Medicare's cost-sharing requirements. GAO found that Medicare's benefits package and cost-sharing requirements leave beneficiaries liable for high out-of-pocket costs. Medigap policies pay for some or all Medicare cost-sharing requirements but do not fully protect beneficiaries from potentially significant out-of-pocket costs such as prescription drug coverage. Medigap first-dollar coverage eliminates the ability of Medicare's cost-sharing requirements to promote prudent use of services."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "A January report by the National Science Foundation (NSF) identified a $5 billion gap between the amount of money that federal agencies reported as research and development (R&D) support and the amount of money that those who did the R&D work reported as spent in 1998. According to NSF, federal agencies earmarked about $72 billion for R&D support in 1998, while those who carried out the R&D reported spending about $67 billion. GAO found that this gap results primarily from annually comparing two separate and distinct types of financial data--federal obligations and performer expenditures--that are not comparable. In addition, R&D funding are collected on a yearly basis, but,in reporting, the period that defines a year can vary. Furthermore, agencies and performers do not always agree on what type of activities fall under the category of R&D. Because the gap results from comparing two dissimilar types of financial data, it does not necessarily reflect poor-quality data, nor does it reflect whether performers are receiving or spending all the federal R&D funds obligated to them. Thus, even if the data collection and reporting issues were addressed, a gap would still …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century changed the budgetary treatment of programs financed by the Highway Trust Fund. The act guaranteed annual funding levels for most highway and transit programs and linked highway user tax receipts, such as those from motor fuel and truck tire taxes, to the annual funding levels for highway programs. Revenue aligned budget authority adjustments are made to the annual guaranteed funding level provided in the act as highway account receipt levels change. For the first time, the adjustment for fiscal year 2003 is negative--decreasing the guaranteed level of highway funding by $4.369 billion. GAO found that the amounts distributed to the Highway Trust Fund for the first nine months of fiscal year 2001, as adjusted based on the Internal Revenue Service's certifications, were reasonable and adequately supported."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) plans to spend $2.9 billion to modernize its information systems. This report reviews the latest draft of IRS' Investment Decision Management Business Case Procedure, which guides the agency's information technology (IT) investments. GAO discusses changes to the guidance that would ensure that the economic analyses in IRS business cases are consistent with commonly accepted principles. IRS' draft guidance on business case documentation represents an important step toward ensuring that IRS management has relevant information on which to base its critical IT investment decisions. However, some aspects of IRS' guidance are inconsistent with commonly held principles of public sector cost-benefit analysis. Most important, the guidance does not require the computation of a comprehensive social net present value (NPV)--the standard for deciding whether a government investment can be justified on economic grounds. The two partial NPV computations that IRS' guidance requires are inappropriate because they do not incorporate the proper values for all relevant benefits and costs for investment projects with significant effects outside of IRS. In addition, IRS' two NPV's are not additive, so even if all benefits and costs were properly valued, decision …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) paid $2.1 billion in medical and death benefits and received 174,000 new injury claims during fiscal year 2000. GAO found that (1) one in four appealed claims' decisions are reversed or remanded to OWCP district offices for additional consideration and a new decision because of questions about or problems with the initial claims decision; (2) OWCP set a goal of informing 96 percent of claimants within 110 days of the date of the hearing; (3) nearly all doctors used by OWCP to provide opinions on injuries claimed were board certified and state licensed and were specialists in areas consistent with the injuries they evaluated; and (4) OWCP has used mailed surveys, telephone surveys, and focus groups to measure customer satisfaction. The Labor inspector general is monitoring fraud within OWCP's workers compensation program and using the claims examiners as one source to identify potentially fraudulent claims. This testimony is based on a May report (GAO-02-637)."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) paid $2.1 billion in medical and death benefits and received about 174,000 new injury claims during fiscal year 2000. GAO found that (1) one in four appealed claims' decisions are reversed or remanded to OWCP district offices for additional consideration and a new decision because of questions about or problems with the initial claims decision; (2) OWCP set a goal of informing 96 percent of claimants within 110 days of the date of the hearing; (3) nearly all doctors used by OWCP to provide opinions on injuries claimed were board certified and state licensed, and were specialists in areas consistent with the injuries they evaluate; and (4) OWCP has used mailed surveys, telephone surveys, and focus groups to measure customer satisfaction. The Labor inspector general is monitoring fraud within OWCP's workers compensation program and using the claims examiners as one source in identifying potentially fraudulent claims."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2002, U.S. Postal Service employees accounted for one-third of both the federal civilian workforce and the $2.1 billion in overall costs for the Federal Workers' Compensation Program (WCP). Postal workers submitted half of the claims for new work-related injuries that year. Postal Service employees with job-related traumatic injuries or occupational diseases almost always provided the evidence required to make a determination on their entitlement. In two percent of the cases, the Office of Workers' Compensation Program (OWCP) found that evidence was missing for one or more of the required elements. However, the length of time taken to process claims varied widely even though all were subject to the same OWCP processing standards. OWCP claims examiners took 59 days to process traumatic injury claims after receiving the notice of injury claim forms from the Postal Service--a process that should take 45 days for all but the most complex cases, according to OWCP performance standards. The case files lacked the information necessary to determine whether the claims for compensation were prepared and filed by the employees within the time frame set by OWCP regulations. OWCP claims examiners …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In 2000 and 2002, Maine and Arizona held the nation's first elections under voluntary programs that offered full state funding for political candidates who ran for legislative and certain statewide offices. The goals of these programs, passed as ballot initiatives by citizens in these states, included increasing electoral competition and curbing increases in the cost of campaigns. Congress has considered legislation for public financing of congressional elections nearly every session since 1956, although no law has been enacted. In the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (P.L. 107-155 (2002)), Congress mandated that GAO study the results of the unique public financing programs in Maine and Arizona. For the 2000 and 2002 elections in Maine and Arizona, this report provides: (1) statistics on the number of candidates who chose to campaign with public funds and the number who were elected; and (2) observations, based on limited data, regarding the extent to which the goals of the public funding programs were met."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Following the terrorist attacks of September 2001, prosecuting the global war on terrorism became the United States' primary foreign policy priority. The United States focused its initial efforts on Afghanistan in Operation Enduring Freedom because the country harbored elements of Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. As a result, countries in the region--Pakistan and the five Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan--became frontline states in the war on terrorism, raising the profile of U.S. relations with these countries."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Congressional requesters asked GAO to provide information on actions that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has taken to facilitate the effective use of human capital flexibilities throughout the federal government and what additional actions OPM might take in this regard. These flexibilities represent the policies and practices that an agency has the authority to implement in managing its workforce."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000, enacted October 30, 2000, mandated that we assess a merchantable material contracting pilot program authorized by the act and report on our assessment by September 30, 2003. The pilot program encompasses certain forest-related projects undertaken as a result of the act and mandates the use of separate contracts for the harvesting or collection of merchantable material, such as timber, and the sale of that material rather than a single contract for both activities."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Recent trends in children's health and eating habits are alarming. Over 15 percent of children are overweight--double the rate in 1980. Children's diets are high in fat but low in fruits, vegetables, and other nutritious foods. The National School Lunch Program has had a continuing role in providing students with nutritious meals. However, serving the meals is only the first step. Students must choose to eat the nutritious food and limit the less healthful choices. GAO was asked to report on the extent to which school lunches, nationwide, were meeting nutrition standards, and schools were encouraging healthy eating, what barriers selected schools faced in accomplishing this, and what innovative steps they had taken to overcome the barriers."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "More than 28 million children receive meals daily through the federal school meal programs. Providing meals that are safe is especially important because young children have a higher risk of complications from some foodborne illnesses. GAO examined (1) the frequency and causes of reported foodborne illness outbreaks associated with the federal school meal programs and (2) the practices that federal, state, and local governments as well as other food providers find useful for safeguarding meals."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs provide millions of children with low-cost or free nutritious meals each school day. In school year 1996-97, the Department of Agriculture instituted more stringent requirements for the nutritional content of school meals. GAO was asked to study the school food service revenues and expenses and how they have changed since the requirements went into effect. This report includes information on the sources of revenues available for providing meals, the expenses of producing meals, the revenues compared to expenses, and the approaches that local school food authorities have adopted to manage their school food service finances. It uses data from six selected states. This report does not provide specific information on the expense of producing a reimbursable school lunch or breakfast."