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6,064 Matching Results
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September 11: More Effective Collaboration Could Enhance Charitable Organizations' Contributions in Disasters
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Surveys suggest that as many as two-thirds of American households have donated money to charitable organizations to aid in the response to the September 11 disasters. To provide the public with information on the role of charitable aid in assisting those affected by the attacks, GAO was asked to report on the amount of donations charities raised and distributed, the accountability measures in place to prevent fraud by organizations and individuals, and lessons learned about how to best distribute charitable aid in similar situations."
Date:
December 19, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Federal Employees' Health Plans: Premium Growth and OPM's Role in Negotiating Benefits
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Federal employees' health insurance premiums have increased at double-digit rates for 3 consecutive years. GAO was asked to examine how the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program's (FEHBP) premium trends compared to those of other large purchasers of employer-sponsored health insurance, factors contributing to FEHBP's premium growth, and steps the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) takes to help contain premium increases compared to those of other large purchasers. GAO compared FEHBP to the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), General Motors, and a large private-employer purchasing coalition in California as well as data from employee benefit surveys."
Date:
December 31, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Veterans' Benefits: Quality Assurance for Disability Claims and Appeals Processing Can Be Further Improved
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "For fiscal year 2002, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will pay $25 billion in cash disability benefits to 3.3 million disabled veterans and their families. Veterans who are dissatisfied with VA's 57 regional offices' decisions may file appeals with VA's Board of Veteran's Appeals. In about half of such appeals, the Board has either granted the benefits denied or returned the cases to regional offices for rework. Additionally, VA reported an accuracy rate of less than 70 percent for regional office disability decisions when it tested a new quality assurance program in fiscal year 1998. When the Board itself denies benefits, veterans may appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. In over half of these appeals, the Court has either granted the benefits denied by the Board or returned the decisions to the Board for rework. In fiscal year 1998, the Board of Veteran's Appeals established a quantitative evaluation program to score its decisionmaking accuracy and collect data to improve decisionmaking. The accuracy measure used by the Board understates its true accuracy rate because the calculations include certain deficiencies, such as errors …
Date:
August 16, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Budget Issues: Budget Enforcement Compliance Report
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 requires that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issue sequestration reports annually to Congress. Overall, GAO found that OMB and CBO substantially complied with the act in fiscal year 2002. However, as in previous years, some of the required OMB and CBO reports were issued late. Further, GAO identified a total of 19 items where differences of over $500 million existed between CBO's and OMB's scoring of discretionary budget authority and/or outlays for enacted laws."
Date:
June 14, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
VA Health Care: Implementation of Prescribing Guideline for Atypical Antipsychotic Drugs Generally Sound
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides health care services to veterans who have been diagnosed with psychosis--primarily schizophrenia, a disorder that can substantially limit their ability to care for themselves, secure employment, and maintain relationships. These veterans also have a high risk of premature death, including suicide. Effective treatment, especially antipsychotic drug therapy, has reduced the severity of their illnesses and increased their ability to function in society. VA's guideline for prescribing atypical antipsychotic drugs is sound and consistent with published clinical practice guidelines used by public and private health care systems. VA's prescribing guideline, recommends that physicians use their best clinical judgment, based on clinical circumstances and patients' needs, when choosing among the atypical drugs. Most Veterans Integrated Service Networks and facilities use VA's prescribing guideline; however, five VISNs have additional policies and procedures for prescribing atypical antipsychotic drugs. Although these procedures help manage pharmaceutical cost, they also have the potential to result in more weight given to cost than clinical judgment which is not consistent with the prescribing guideline."
Date:
April 29, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Skilled Nursing Facilities: Medicare Payments Exceed Costs for Most but Not All Facilities
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report addresses (1) the relationship between Medicare skilled nursing facility (SNF) payments and the costs of treating Medicare patients in freestanding SNFs, as well as the effect of Medicare SNF payments on the financial condition of these facilities, and (2) the relationship between Medicare SNF payments and the costs of treating patients in hospital-based SNFs, as well as the factors that may account for cost differences between hospital-based and freestanding SNFs."
Date:
December 31, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Charitable Choice: Overview of Research Findings on Implementation
A briefing report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Charitable choice provisions require states and localities to allow religious organizations to compete for federal funding on the same basis as other social service providers, without impairing the religious character of such organizations. Congress has been considering legislation to expand charitable choice provisions to other government programs. At least 19 states have contracted with faith-based organizations (FBOs) to provide some welfare services. Moreover, states are using various approaches to implement charitable choice legislation. For example, some states have created state faith-based liaisons to promote greater awareness of charitable choice provisions or removed barriers to contracting with FBOs. Several factors have limited the establishment of collaborations between FBOs and states, including some FBOs' lack of awareness and understanding of charitable choice provisions, their reluctance to partner with government, and the limited financial and administrative capacity of some FBOs. Once collaborations have occurred, some small FBOs have had problems (1) covering ongoing costs while awaiting government reimbursement or (2) managing the performance-based contracts because of limited technological and management systems. GAO found no information with which to assess the effectiveness of FBOs as providers of social services. Although …
Date:
January 18, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Multifamily Rural Housing: Prepayment Potential and Long-Term Rehabilitation Needs for Section 515 Properties
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Nearly 450,000 elderly and other households depend on federal assistance to live in multifamily rural rental properties that were constructed with subsidized federal loans. Because the properties were built in areas when and where privately financed housing units, affordable by lower income households, were not considered economically feasible, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Housing Service (RHS) has made direct loans available to developers of affordable multifamily housing under its section 515 program. RHS has funded many more new properties than the portfolio has lost through prepayment. The number of new properties added to the portfolio exceeded the number that left the program after prepayment in every year except 2001. If the statutory requirement restricting prepayment for loans made before December 1989, were changed to allow prepayment without restrictions after 20 years from the date of the loan, prepayment could be an option for the owners of 3,900 of all section 515 properties over the next eight years. RHS field staff routinely inspect properties, complete and retain detailed descriptions of noted deficiencies, and transmit the summaries of the deficiencies identified to a central database. Only current …
Date:
May 10, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Nonproliferation R&D: NNSA's Program Develops Successful Technologies, but Project Management Can Be Strengthened
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The mission of the National Nuclear Security Administration's (NNSA) Nonproliferation and Verification Research and Development (R&D) Program is to conduct needs-driven research, development, testing, and evaluation of new technologies that are intended to strengthen the United States' ability to prevent and respond to nuclear, chemical, and biological attacks. In fiscal years 1998 through 2002, the Nonproliferation and Verification R&D program received an average of $218 million per year--a total of $1.2 billion. Nearly 75 percent of that total was distributed for R&D at three NNSA national laboratories. Two of the three research areas of the Nonproliferation and Verification R&D Program lack a formal process to identify users' needs, and the tools used to monitor project progress are inadequate. In terms of users, NNSA's role is to develop technologies for, and transfer them to, users in the federal government, the intelligence community, law enforcement, and others. The program requires that projects' life-cycle plans and quarterly reports contain detailed information on project time frames, milestones, users of technologies, and deliverables. Officials from federal, state, and local agencies that use the technology developed by NNSA's R&D program have found …
Date:
August 23, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
The White House: Allegations of Damage During the 2001 Presidential Transition
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Damage, theft, vandalism, and pranks occurred in the White House complex during the 2001 presidential transition. Several Executive Office of the President (EOP) staff claim that they observed (1) messy offices containing excessive trash or personal items, (2) numerous prank signs containing derogatory and offensive statements about the president, (3) government property that was damaged, and (4) missing items. Further, EOP staff believed that what they observed during the transition was done intentionally. Some former Clinton administration staff acknowledged that they observed some damaged items and prank signs. However, the former Clinton administration staff said that (1) the amount of trash found during the transition was what could be expected; (2) they did not take the missing items; (3) some furniture was unintentionally broken before the transition, and little money was spent on repairs and upkeep during the administration; and (4) many of the reported observations were not of vandalism. This report makes several recommendations regarding the prevention and documentation of vandalism during future presidential transitions."
Date:
June 7, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Skilled Nursing Facilities: Providers Have Responded to Medicare Payment System By Changing Practices
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In 1998, the Health Care Financing Administration implemented a prospective payment system (PPS) for skilled nursing facility (SNF) services provided to Medicare beneficiaries. PPS is intended to control the growth in Medicare spending for skilled nursing and rehabilitative services that SNFs provide. Two years after the implementation of PPS, the mix of patients across the categories of payment groups has shifted, as determined by the patients' initial minimum data set assessments. Although the overall share of patients classified into rehabilitation payment group categories based on their initial assessments remained about the same, more patients were classified into the high and medium rehabilitation payment group categories, and fewer were initially classified into the most intensive (highest paying) and least intensive (lowest paying) rehabilitation payment group categories. Two years after PPS was implemented the majority of patients in rehabilitation payment groups received less therapy than was provided in 1999. This was true even for patients within the same rehabilitation payment group categories. Across all rehabilitation payment group categories, fewer patients received the highest amounts of therapy associated with each payment group."
Date:
August 23, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Purchase Cards: Control Weaknesses Leave the Air Force Vulnerable to Fraud, Waste, and Abuse
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In July 2001 and March 2002, GAO testified on significant breakdowns in internal controls over purchase card transactions at two Navy sites that resulted in fraud, waste, and abuse. As a result, the Congress asked GAO to audit purchase card controls at DOD. This report focuses on Air Force purchase card controls and addresses whether the overall management control environment and key internal controls were effective in preventing potentially fraudulent, improper, and abusive purchase card transactions."
Date:
December 20, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Military Personnel: Active Duty Benefits Reflect Changing Demographics, but Opportunities Exist to Improve
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) uses employee benefits--that is, indirect compensation above and beyond a service member's basic pay--as a tool to recruit and retain personnel. DOD has instituted a number of benefits that reflect demographic changes in the active duty force since the draft ended and the military became an all-volunteer force in 1973. Many of these benefits address one of the most significant demographic changes--an increase in service members with family obligations. A second major demographic change in the active military has been a growing proportion of female service members. DOD has responded positively to most demographic changes by incorporating a number of family-friendly benefits; however, opportunities exist to improve current benefits in this area. In comparing the types of benefits offered by the military with those offered in the private sector, GAO did not identify significant gaps in the benefits available to military personnel. GAO did not make direct comparisons between individual military and private-sector benefits but did determine that all the core benefits offered by most private-sector firms--retirement pay, health care, life insurance, and paid time off--are offered by the military."
Date:
September 18, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Defense Acquisitions: Steps to Improve the Crusader Program's Investment Decisions
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Army wants an artillery system with greater firepower, range, and mobility than its current self-propelled howitzer. In 1994, the Army began to develop the Crusader, an advanced artillery system consisting of a self-propelled 155-millimeter howitzer and a resupply vehicle. The Department of Defense (DOD) will decide next year whether the Crusader program should enter its system development and demonstration stage, which will require the commitment of major resources. GAO found that the Crusader program has made considerable progress in developing key technologies and reducing its size and weight. However, more progress and knowledge is needed to minimize the risk of cost overruns, schedule delays, and performance shortfalls. The Crusader program will likely enter product development with most of its critical technologies less mature than best practices recommend. Most of the Crusader's critical technologies have been demonstrated in a relevant environment but not in the more demanding operational environment. Although the Army is reducing the Crusader's weight so that two vehicles can be deployed on a C-17 aircraft, the deployability advantage gained does not appear significant. The reduction in the Crusader system's weight would only decrease …
Date:
February 25, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Surface and Maritime Transportation: Developing Strategies for Enhancing Mobility: A National Challenge
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. surface and maritime transportation systems include roads, mass transit systems, railroads, and ports and waterways. One of the major goals of these systems is to provide and enhance mobility, that is, the free flow of passengers and goods. Mobility provides people with access to goods, services, recreation, and jobs; provides businesses with access to materials, markets and people; and promotes the movement of personnel and material to meet national defense needs. During the past decade, total public sector spending increased for public roads and transit, remained constant for waterways, and decreased for rail. Passenger and freight travel are expected to increase over the next 10 years, according to Department of Transportation projections. Passenger vehicle travel on public roads is expected to grow by 24.7 percent from 2000 to 2010. Passenger travel on transit systems is expected to increase by 17.2 percent over the same period. Amtrak has estimated that intercity passenger rail ridership will increase by 25.9 percent from 2001 to 2010. The key factors behind increases in passenger travel, and the modes travelers choose, are expected to be population growth, the aging of …
Date:
August 30, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Drug Control: DEA Could Improve Its Heroin Signature and Domestic Monitor Programs' Geographic Source Data
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) runs two programs--the Heroin Signature Program and the Domestic Monitor Program--that provide information on trends in heroin trafficking. The only programs of their kind in this country, these two program conduct chemical analyses to pinpoint the geographic origin of heroin being sold on the streets. The Domestic Monitor Program determines (1) the source of heroin that has been bought undercover in 23 U.S. cities and (2) the purity and price of heroin at the retail level. The Heroin Signature Program provides law enforcement with information on the origins of heroin at the wholesale and retail level in some U.S. cities. Data from the two programs are included in intelligence and investigative reports provided to DEA and other federal law enforcement agencies, which use this information to adjust their drug enforcement efforts. The quantity of heroin seized by the Customs Service at ports-of-entry but not sent to DEA for testing may make a difference in the results reported by DEA. All seizures at ports-of-entry forwarded to DEA are tested for geographic source, according to DEA officials. However, Customs is not required to …
Date:
March 29, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Military Personnel: Management and Oversight of Selective Reenlistment Bonus Program Needs Improvement
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Because of the recent growth in DOD's Selective Reenlistment Bonus Program, the House Appropriations Committee asked GAO to determine (1) the extent to which the services have followed their criteria for managing their programs and (2) whether DOD has provided adequate guidance for and oversight of the program."
Date:
November 25, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Defense Logistics: Opportunities to Improve the Army's and Navy's Decision-making Process for Weapons Systems Support
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The armed services have significantly reduced their procurement of new weapons systems and are keeping their existing systems longer than originally anticipated. The Department of Defense (DOD) estimates that it is spending $59 billion a year on logistics support to operate and sustain weapons systems, but DOD believes that better logistics support practices could reduce these costs by as much as 20 percent. To cut costs and improve efficiency, the military services have begun implementing logistics support strategies that rely on the private sector. DOD Regulation 5000.2-R expresses a preference for using long-term contractor logistics support but requires that an analysis be done first to determine how logistics support work is to be allocated to public or private entities. It is impossible to determine whether initial cost-effectiveness estimates for proposed contractor-logistics-support approaches are being achieved because the Army and Navy lack the required data. Consequently, the services may be adopting support approaches without knowing whether expected readiness improvements and cost-reduction goals are being met, where adjustments are needed, or the conditions under which the various support approaches are likely to achieve the most cost-effective results. Comparisons …
Date:
February 28, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Marijuana: Early Experiences with Four States' Laws That Allow Use for Medical Purposes
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "A number of states have adopted laws that allow medical use of marijuana. Federal law, however, does not recognize any accepted medical use for marijuana and individuals remain subject to federal prosecution for marijuana possession. Debate continues over medical effectiveness of marijuana, and over government policies surrounding medical use. State laws in Oregon, Alaska, Hawaii, and California allow medical use of marijuana under specified conditions. All four states require a patient to have a physician's recommendation to be eligible for medical marijuana use. Alaska, Hawaii, and Oregon have established state-run registries for patients and caregivers to document their eligibility to engage in medical marijuana use; these states require physician documentation of a person's debilitating condition to register. Laws in these states also establish maximum allowable of marijuana for medical purposes. California's law does not establish a state-run registry or establish maximum allowable amounts of marijuana. Relatively few people had registered to use marijuana for medical purposes in Oregon, Hawaii, and Alaska. As of Spring 2002, 2,450 people, or about 0.05 percent of the total population of the three states combined, had registered as medical marijuana users. …
Date:
November 1, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Foot and Mouth Disease: To Protect U.S. Livestock, USDA Must Remain Vigilant and Resolve Outstanding Issues
A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The 2001 outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in the United Kingdom decisively illustrated the devastation that this highly contagious animal disease can cause to a nation's economy. By the time the disease was eradicated, the United Kingdom had slaughtered more than 4 million animals and sustained losses of $5 billion in the food and agricultural sectors, as well as comparable losses to its tourism industry. Before 2001, the United Kingdom had been FMD-free for almost 34 years. Following the outbreak, the country was generally barred from participating in the international trade of live animals and animal products that could transmit the virus. The United States has adequate processes for obtaining information on foreign FMD outbreaks and providing the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and others with this information, but it lacks adequate processes for sharing this information with the Customs Service. The United States receives information on FMD outbreaks from USDA officials stationed abroad, international agricultural and animal health organizations, and foreign governments. These officials collect a wide array of agricultural and animal health information about the countries and regions in which they are stationed, …
Date:
July 26, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Aviation Security: Registered Traveler Program Policy and Implementation Issues
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The aviation industry and business traveler groups have proposed the registered traveler concept as a way to reduce long waits in airport security lines caused by heightened security screening measures implemented after the September 11 terrorist attacks. In addition, aviation security experts have advocated this concept as a way to better target security resources to those travelers who might pose greater security risks. The Aviation and Transportation Security Act of November 2001 allows the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to consider developing a registered traveler program as a way to address these two issues. GAO completed this review to inform Congress and TSA of policy and implementation issues related to the concept of a registered traveler program."
Date:
November 22, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority: Contracting Practices Do Not Always Comply with Airport Lease Requirements
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Metropolitan Washington Airports Act of 1986 transferred operating responsibility for Dulles and Reagan National Airports from the federal government to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), an independent, nonfederal, public entity. MWAA, which has a 50-year lease to run the two airports, has entered into a wide range of contracts for supplies, construction, and other services. Although MWAA issued guidance in 1993 for the awarding of contracts and concession franchises, GAO found that the guidance does not adequately reflect competitive contracting principles and is out of date in many respects. Moreover, MWAA does not use its guidance to award contracts for non-concession goods and services. MWAA did not obtain full and open competition for 15 of the 35 contracts GAO reviewed, raising concerns about whether MWAA obtained the best value for the goods and services provided. The failure to obtain full and open competition also raises concerns about whether MWAA has (1) deprived prospective contractors of the chance to compete for contracts and (2) fairly evaluated all of the contractors that have competed for procurements. Finally, by not following recognized competitive principles, MWAA could be …
Date:
March 1, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Acquisition Workforce: Status of Agency Efforts to Address Future Needs
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government is dramatically changing the way it purchases goods and services--by relying more on judgment and initiative versus rigid rules to make purchasing decisions. At the same time, agencies are dealing with reductions in the civilian acquisition workforce. GAO was asked to determine what efforts federal civilian agencies are making to address their future acquisition workforce needs."
Date:
December 18, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Meat and Poultry: Better USDA Oversight and Enforcement of Safety Rules Needed to Reduce Risk of Foodborne Illnesses
A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Every year, some meat and poultry products are contaminated with microbial pathogens--such as Salmonella and E. coli--that cause foodborne illnesses and deaths. To improve the safety of meat and poultry products, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) introduced additional regulatory requirements for meat and poultry plants. These requirements are intended to ensure that plants operate food safety systems that are prevention-oriented and science-based. These systems, called Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) systems, were phased in from January 1998 through January 2000 at all meat and poultry slaughter and processing plants. As the foundation of the HACCP system, plants are responsible for developing HACCP plans that, among other things, identify all of the contamination hazards that are reasonably likely to occur in a plant's particular production environment, establish all of the necessary steps to control these hazards, and have valid scientific evidence to support their decisions. GAO found that FSIS is not ensuring that all plants' HACCP plans meet regulatory requirements. As a result, consumers may be unnecessarily exposed to unsafe foods that can cause foodborne illnesses. In particular, …
Date:
August 30, 2002
Creator:
United States. General Accounting Office.
System:
The UNT Digital Library