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Peace Corps: Initiatives for Addressing Safety and Security Challenges Hold Promise, but Progress Should Be Assessed

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "About 7,000 Peace Corps volunteers now serve in 70 countries, often living in areas with limited access to reliable communications, police, or medical services. Moreover, as Americans, they may be viewed as relatively wealthy and hence good targets for criminal activity. The Peace Corps has reported rising numbers of assaults against its volunteers since it began collecting data in 1990. However, the Peace Cor… more
Date: July 25, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Foot and Mouth Disease: To Protect U.S. Livestock, USDA Must Remain Vigilant and Resolve Outstanding Issues

Description: 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 indus… more
Date: July 26, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Critical Infrastructure Protection: Federal Efforts Require a More Coordinated and Comprehensive Approach for Protecting Information Systems

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Critical infrastructure protection (CIP) involves activities that enhance the security of the nation's cyber and physical public and private infrastructures that are essential to national security, economic activity, and public health and safety. At least 50 federal organizations within 13 major departments and agencies mentioned in Presidential Decision Directive 63 are involved in CIP activities that include… more
Date: July 15, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Welfare Reform: Outcomes for TANF Recipients with Impairments

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 created the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grants to states, which emphasizes work and responsibility over dependence on government benefits. GAO found that impairments are common among TANF recipients and their children, with 44 percent of TANF recipients reporting that they or their children had impairments, com… more
Date: July 8, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Money Laundering: Extent of Money Laundering through Credit Cards Is Unknown

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Money laundering is a serious issue; an estimated $500 billion are laundered annually. The extent to which money laundering through credit cards may be occurring, however, is unknown. Bank regulators, credit card industry representatives, and law enforcement officials interviewed by GAO indicated that credit card accounts were not likely to be used in the initial stage of money laundering, when illicit cash is… more
Date: July 22, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Acquisition Workforce: Agencies Need to Better Define and Track the Training of Their Employees

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO's continuing reviews of the acquisition workforce, focusing on the Department of Defense (DOD); the Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force; the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Energy, and Health and Human Services; the General Services Administration; and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, indicate that some of the government's largest procurement operations are not run efficiently.… more
Date: July 29, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Mortgage Financing: Changes in the Performance of FHA-Insured Loans

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans made in recent years have experienced somewhat higher foreclosure rates than loans made in earlier years. However, recent loans are performing much better than loans made in the 1980s. Although economic factors such as house price appreciation are key determinants of mortgage foreclosure, changes in underwriting requirements, as well as changes in the conventional mor… more
Date: July 10, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Space Station: Actions Under Way to Manage Cost, but Significant Challenges Remain

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) revealed that the cost to complete assembly of the international space station has risen from $25 billion to $30 billion. Much of that cost growth is due to inadequate definition of requirements, changes in program content, schedule delays, and poor program oversight. Weaknesses in the program's cost-estimating process call into question the credibility … more
Date: July 17, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Welfare Reform: Tribal TANF Allows Flexibility to Tailor Programs, but Conditions on Reservations Make It Difficult to Move Recipients into Jobs

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act gives Native American Indian tribes the option to administer Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs, either alone or as part of a consortium with other tribes, rather than receiving benefits and services from state TANF programs. Because of the difficult economic circumstances on many reservations, the law also gives trib… more
Date: July 5, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Defense Inventory: Air Force Needs to Improve Control of Shipments to Repair Contractors

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO has considered Department of Defense (DOD) inventory management to be a high-risk area since 1990 because inventory management systems and procedures are ineffective. This report evaluates the Air Force's inventory control procedures for material shipped to contractors for repair or for use in repair. The Air Force and contractor personnel have not complied with DOD and Air Force inventory control procedur… more
Date: July 1, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Chemical Safety: Emergency Response Community Views on the Adequacy of Federally Required Chemical Information

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The United States has become increasingly aware of the need to be prepared for emergencies, including those involving hazardous chemicals. The local emergency responders and representatives from national organizations that GAO contacted have varied views on the adequacy of (1) information in chemical inventory forms and risk management plans and (2) the manner in which that information is delivered. Most membe… more
Date: July 31, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Columbia River Basin Salmon and Steelhead: Federal Agencies' Recovery Responsibilities, Expenditures and Actions

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Before 1850, an estimated 16 million salmon and steelhead returned to the Columbia River Basin annually to spawn. Over the past 25 years, the number of salmon and steelhead returning to the Columbia River Basin has averaged only 660,000 per year although annual population levels have varied widely. Factors such as over-harvesting, construction and operation of dams, degradation of spawning habitat, increased h… more
Date: July 26, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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International Trade: Federal Action Needed to Help Small Businesses Address Foreign Patent Challenges

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Small and start-up businesses are principal sources of innovation and are vital to U.S. economic growth. Statistics show that small business created more than 5.5 million new jobs in the United States during the 1990s. In the current global economy, protecting innovations in the United States and abroad is an important component of small businesses' ability to develop overseas markets. The cost of obtaining, m… more
Date: July 17, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Workforce Investment Act: States and Localities Increasingly Coordinate Services for TANF Clients, but Better Information Needed on Effective Approaches

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The 1998 Workforce Investment Act (WIA) required states to provide most federally funded employment-related services through one-stop centers. Two years earlier, welfare reform legislation created the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant which provided flexibility to states to focus on helping needy adults with children find and maintain employment. Nearly all states reported some coordin… more
Date: July 3, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Medicaid and SCHIP: Recent HHS Approvals of Demonstration Waiver Projects Raise Concerns

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "States provide health care coverage to about 40 million uninsured, low-income adults and children under two federal-state programs--Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). To receive federal funding, states must meet statutory requirements, including providing certain levels of benefits to specified populations. Under section 1115 of the Social Security Act, the Secretary of Health … more
Date: July 12, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Political Organizations: Data Disclosure and IRS's Oversight of Organizations Should Be Improved

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Tax-exempt organizations seeking to influence political elections--called Section 527 organizations--are estimated to spend millions of dollars annually in federal elections. These organizations use unregulated "soft money" for issue advocacy, such as sponsoring an advertisement that supports or opposes a candidate's position on an issue. Although all states require these groups to publicly release data on the… more
Date: July 17, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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HUD Human Capital Management: Comprehensive Strategic Workforce Planning Needed

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Looming retirements during the next 5 years at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have brought the need for workforce planning to the forefront. HUD has done some workforce planning and has determined how many staff it needs to meet its current workload, but it does not have a comprehensive strategic workforce plan to guide its recruiting, hiring, and other key human capital efforts. Workfor… more
Date: July 24, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Performance Management Systems: IRS's Systems for Frontline Employees and Managers Align with Strategic Goals but Improvements Can Be Made

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) established critical job responsibilities for group managers and frontline employees that align with each of the agency's three strategic goals. In the group managers' performance management system, all of the supporting behaviors clearly align with the critical job responsibilities. However, for frontline employees, the supporting behaviors do not always align with IRS's des… more
Date: July 12, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Welfare Reform: With TANF Flexibility, States Vary in How They Implement Work Requirements and Time Limits

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Congress created the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant to replace the previous welfare program and help welfare recipients transition into employment. To this end, states are required to enforce work requirements, and face financial penalties if a minimum percentage of adults receiving cash assistance do not participate in work or work-related activities each year. This federal partici… more
Date: July 5, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Gun Control: Opportunities to Close Loopholes in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) searches state criminal history records to prevent gun sales to ineligible persons. GAO found that state firearm laws and procedures may affect how these records are used by NICS. Each of the six states GAO surveyed had some mechanism by which persons with criminal convictions could have their rights to own a firearm restored. The six states typicall… more
Date: July 12, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Foreign Assistance: Disaster Recovery Program Addressed Intended Purposes, but USAID Needs Greater Flexibility to Improve Its Response Capability

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In the fall of 1998, when hurricanes Mitch and Georges struck Central America and the Caribbean, the United States and other donors responded by providing emergency relief, such as food, water, medical supplies, and temporary shelter. Also, In May 1999, Congress passed emergency supplemental legislation that provided $621 million for a disaster recovery and reconstruction fund for the affected countries, as we… more
Date: July 24, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Gun Control: Potential Effects of Next-Day Destruction of NICS Background Check Records

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) would be affected if data on the sale of firearms by licensed dealers were destroyed within 24 hours after the transfers were allowed to proceed. Under the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, licensed dealers are not to transfer firearms to an individual until a NICS search determines that the transfer will … more
Date: July 10, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Missile Defense: Knowledge-Based Decision Making Needed to Reduce Risks in Developing Airborne Laser

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Air Force launched an acquisition program to develop and produce a revolutionary laser weapon system, known as the Airborne Laser, in 1996. Being developed for installation in a modified Boeing 747 aircraft, it is intended to destroy enemy ballistic missiles almost immediately after their launch. The Air Force originally estimated development costs at $2.5 billion and projected fielding of the system in 20… more
Date: July 12, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Canceled DOD Appropriations: Improvements Made but More Corrective Actions Are Needed

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Congress changed the law governing the use of appropriation accounts in 1990 because it found that the Department of Defense (DOD) may have spent hundreds of millions of dollars for purposes that Congress had not approved. The 1990 law provided that, 5 years after the expiration of the period of availability of a fixed-term appropriation, the appropriation account be closed and all remaining balances canceled.… more
Date: July 31, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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