Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO addressed congressional concerns regarding the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), focusing on: (1) the management challenges facing the Department of Commerce in its administration of NOAA; (2) whether GAO reviewed the latest available studies of NOAA's fleet and modernization efforts or NOAA's fisheries research acquisition plan; (3) whether GAO examined the cost efficiency or effectiveness of NOAA's ships or compared the costs of NOAA's ships with those of private or other available ships; (4) whether GAO reviewed NOAA's fisheries research ship replacement plans; (5) why replacing the NOAA fleet is entwined with the issue of the NOAA Corps; and (6) whether GAO reviewed NOAA's downsizing of the NOAA Corps."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the outcome of the 1996 World Food Summit, focusing on factors that could affect progress toward meeting world food security goals."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on how states implement the federal requirement that establishes a process for nursing home complaint investigations, focusing on the: (1) effectiveness of state complaint investigation practices as a component of the system to ensure sustained compliance with federal nursing home quality-of-care standards; and (2) Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) role in establishing standards and conducting oversight of states' complaint investigation practices and in using information about the results of complaint investigations to ensure compliance with nursing home standards."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed Internet securities fraud and regulatory efforts to combat this growing problem, focusing on: (1) information about the incidence and types of securities frauds perpetrated over the Internet; (2) the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) initiatives to combat Internet securities fraud; (3) information on the penalties that have been imposed on individuals found to have committed Internet securities frauds; (4) information from state securities regulators about state efforts to control Internet securities fraud; and (5) potential challenges facing SEC and state regulatory initiatives in combating securities fraud over the Internet."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the effectiveness of complaint and enforcement practices to protect nursing home residents, and to ensure that homes participating in Medicare and Medicaid comply with federal standards, focusing on the: (1) effectiveness of states' complaint practices in protecting residents; (2) Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) role in establishing standards and conducting oversight of states' complaint practices and in using information about the results of complaint investigations to ensure compliance with nursing home standards; and (3) assessment of HCFA's use of sanction authority for homes that failed to maintain compliance with these standards."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the effect of scab and vomitoxin on North Dakota barley crops, focusing on: (1) the financial impact from scab and vomitoxin on barley farmers; (2) the performance of vomitoxin test methods; and (3) short- and long-term actions that could help reduce the impact of scab and vomitoxin on North Dakota barley farmers."