Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report has been superseded by GAO-05-35G, GAO's Agency Protocols. This document contains GAO's Agency Protocols that GAO is launching in a pilot phase starting in December 2002. These protocols are intended to govern GAO's work with executive branch agencies and to provide clearly defined and transparent policies and practices on how GAO will interact with agencies in the performance of its work."

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."

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."

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."

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."

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."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Internet gambling is a fast-growing industry with estimated 2003 revenues of more than $4 billion. However, concerns have been raised about its social and economic impacts. In light of recent recommendations by a Congressionally appointed commission, which advocated restricting Internet gambling within the United States, GAO was asked to examine the U.S. payments system, particularly credit cards, as it relates to interactive on-line gaming. We examined (1) the legal framework for Internet gambling domestically and abroad; (2) the credit card industry's policies regarding the use of credit cards to pay for Internet gambling and actions taken to restrict such usage; and (3) the views of law enforcement, banking regulators, and the credit card and gaming industries on the vulnerability of Internet gambling to money laundering. We issued an interim report on these issues in September 2002. GAO makes no recommendations in this report."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report provides information on (1) the structure and operations of the New Hampshire-Vermont Solid Waste Project; (2) how the project's structure and operations compare to those of other interstate waste management projects; and (3) issues that need to be addressed in the future, as the expiration of the incineration contract approaches and the districts consider their options. In addressing the second question, we were unable to identify any other congressionally approved interstate solid waste compacts. However, we identified 10 interstate compacts for the management of low-level radioactive waste and one solid waste agreement that was not congressionally approved and used them as a basis for comparison."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (the 2002 Farm Bill) required GAO to report annually on how states have used funds received under the Master Settlement Agreement and the Phase II agreement. This letter is the first in a series of reports responding to the 2002 Farm Bill requirement. Specifically, this letter provides information on (1) the amount of funds that have been distributed to each of the participating states under the Phase II agreement and (2) how the states have allocated these funds to tobacco growers, quota owners, and others."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Section 1308 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 requires the Comptroller General to provide Congress with an assessment of the Department of Defense's annual report on the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program within 90 days of the submission of the annual report to Congress. The Department of Defense submitted its CTR annual report for Fiscal Year 2002 to Congress on September 3, 2002 almost 19 months after the submission date mandated by law. GAO found that the report (1) did not clearly set forth future funding data required by Congress, (2) did not include certain important planning elements, (3) in some instances asserted the use of a more rigorous methodology than was actually used, and (4) incorporated some but not all prior GAO recommendations."

A briefing report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Labor market information is used to help make and assess social and monetary policies, tax and budget projections, and private investment decisions. Produced under cooperative agreements between states and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), labor market information helps provide an up-to-date picture of the U.S. economy and generate closely watched economic indicators, such as unemployment rates and the Gross Domestic Product. In addition, decisions about the distribution of billions of federal dollars to states and local governments depends, in part, on labor market information. In summary, GAO found that (1) funding for the Covered Employment and Wages (ES-202) and Current Employment Statistics (CES) programs declined in real terms over the past 7 years; (2) BLS estimates the funding needs of states by adjusting prior year funding and uses formulas to allocate funds to states; and (3) workload and cost increases outpaced funding increases in the ES-202 program, which could result in data quality problems, according to state Labor Market Information (LMI) officials. BLS estimates LMI budget needs for states by making adjustments to the past year's funding and allocates appropriated funds to states by using …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "We assessed the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) rationale and documentation to support its decision to relocate Space Shuttle Orbiter Major Modification (OMM) work from Palmdale, California, to Kennedy Space Center, Florida. OMM work entails alterations to improve the Space Shuttle's Safety, operational quality, and long-term support and to extend its life."

A briefing report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Secretary of Defense announced a new business transformation program in 2001 with the intent of improving the effectiveness and efficiency of Department of Defense business operations. Concerned that the previous administration's Defense Reform Initiatives (DRI) could not be successful without many years of sustained effort, the Senate Committee on Armed Services issued a September 2001 report directing GAO to assess which DRI initiatives have been carried forward. In completing this assessment, GAO also examined the management structure and types of initiatives contained in the new business transformation program. Also at the request of the Committee, more detailed information on the status of the logistics reform and electronic business/electronic commerce initiatives is provided in the GAO report. GAO interviewed officials involved with the former DRI initiatives, as well as officials operating at all levels of the new business transformation program. In commenting on a draft of this report, DOD concurred with GAO's findings."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Under section 8(a) of the Small Business Act, the Small Business Administration (SBA) conducts a program for developing small businesses that are owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Participants can receive contracts under acquisitions that federal agencies offer to the 8(a) program as well as business development assistance from SBA. A firm that receives a supply contract under the 8(a) program or a small business set aside can be either a manufacturer or a nonmanufacturer of a product. Under SBA's rules, however, a nonmanufacturer who receives one of these contracts must agree to supply the product of a domestic small manufacturer or processor. SBA can waive this requirement when there are no small manufacturers or processors available to supply the product. There are two types of waivers to the nonmanufacturer rule: (1) individual waivers, which apply only to a specific contract and are effective for the life of that contract, and (2) class waivers, which apply to categories of items and continue in effect unless revoked by SBA. Once a waiver of the nonmanufacturer rule is approved, a firm may supply the product of a large manufacturer. …

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report describes the status of our work toward developing a methodology for evaluating the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program. Our objectives are to provide information about (1) the NMTC Program, including its goals, its design, and progress in implementing the program, and (2)our mandated review of the program, including the potential scope of the review and how the program may be evaluated for effectiveness and compliance."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "During the winter of 2000-2001, the wholesale price of natural gas peaked at a level four times greater than its usual level. Responding to the congressional interest and concern caused by these high prices, GAO undertook a study to address the (1) factors that influence natural gas price volatility and the high prices of 2000-2001; (2) federal government's role in ensuring that natural gas prices are determined in a competitive, informed marketplace; and (3) choices available to gas utility companies that want to mitigate the effects of price spikes on their residential customers. GAO surveyed a nationwide sample of gas utilities and staff of state utility regulatory agencies."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) overseas schools educate more than 70,000 children of military service members and DOD civilian employees throughout the world. In order to ensure the continued success of this school system, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 directed GAO to assess whether the DOD overseas teachers' compensation package is adequate to recruit and retain qualified teachers. The act also required GAO to determine whether any revisions to the law governing DOD overseas teachers' salaries were advisable."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In 1998, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), authorized the states to retain the federal share of proceeds from the sale or lease of real property that had been purchased with federal-aid funds. It also required the states to use the federal share on other highway projects eligible for funding under the federal-aid highway program. GAO determined (1) the extent to which states are selling, leasing, or disposing of real property purchased with federal-aid funds and (2) how the proceeds generated from the sale or lease of real property are being used, including whether they are being used in accordance with TEA-21. GAO issued a related legal opinion in September 2002."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Encouraging a clearer and closer link between budgeting, planning, and performance is essential to improving federal management and instilling a greater focus on results. Through work at various levels within the organization, this report on the Administration for Children and Families (ACF)--and its two companion studies on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (GAO-03-258) and the Veterans Health Administration (GAO-03-10)--records (1) what managers considered successful efforts at creating linkages between planning and performance information to influence resource choices and (2) the challenges managers face in creating these linkages."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The designs on three of the most common U.S. coins, the penny, nickel, and dime, have remained largely unchanged for over 50 years. The 50 State Quarters Program, involving a set of recurring designs commemorating each state, has been credited with generating renewed interest in the quarter by collectors and the public. A recent redesign of the new dollar coin has also increased the public's interest in collecting the coin, but it is not widely circulating. Concerned about the level of public interest in coins and the circulation of the dollar coin, Congress mandated a GAO review of U.S. coin design, with particular attention to increasing circulation of the dollar coin. GAO contracted with the Gallup Organization to survey a representative sample of U.S. adults to obtain public views on various coin design questions, including public preference for coin denominations, coin design features, the frequency of change in coin design, and ways to increase acceptance and use of the new dollar coin."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) program was started by the Department of Defense (DOD) as a way to get new technologies that meet critical military needs into the hands of users faster and less cost. GAO was asked to examine DOD's process for structuring and executing ACTDs."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "U.S. air carriers transport billions of tons of cargo each year in both passenger planes and all-cargo planes. Typically, about one-half of the hull of each passenger aircraft is filled with cargo. As a result, any vulnerabilities in the air cargo security system potentially threaten the entire air transport system. GAO agreed to determine the security vulnerabilities that have been identified in the air cargo system, the status of key recommendations that have been made since 1990 to improve air cargo security, and ways in which air cargo security can be improved in the near-and long-term."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Concerned that minimum personnel experience or education requirements in agency solicitations for information technology (IT) services were contributing to worker shortages, Congress included a provision in the fiscal year 2001 Defense authorization act requiring that the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) be amended to limit the use of such requirements. Specifically, agencies are not to include such minimum personnel requirements in solicitations for IT services that result in performance-based contracts--those with performance work statements that set forth contract requirements in clear, specific, and objective terms with measurable outcomes--unless the contracting officer determines that the needs of the agency cannot be met without them. This law also required GAO to study and report on the government's implementation of this provision. Accordingly, GAO assessed whether the FAR rule implementing this requirement conforms with the provision (section 813 of P.L. 106-398) and to what extent executive agencies have complied with the new requirement. GAO chose nine agencies to review, based on its analysis of data in FedBizOpps, a governmentwide Web site containing government business opportunities over $25,000."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is in the midst of a massive effort to reorganize its structure and modernize its technology. To help with this effort, IRS obtains services through task orders under its Treasury Information Processing Support Services (TIPSS-2) contracting program. In this study, GAO reviewed the 6 largest competitive task orders that IRS awarded between July 1, 2001 and December 31, 2001 to determine if IRS used price or cost as a selection factor in the award of these task orders."