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Nursing Homes: Public Reporting of Quality Indicators Has Merit, but National Implementation Is Premature

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO was asked to review the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) initiative to publicly report additional information on its "Nursing Home Compare" Web site intended to help consumers choose a nursing home. GAO examined CMS's development of the new nursing home quality indicators and efforts to verify the underlying data used to calculate them. GAO also reviewed the assistance CMS offered the public … more
Date: October 31, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Community Investment: Information on Selected Facilities That Received Environmental Permits

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Industrial facilities that operate under permits regulating some emissions and discharges have been the subject of complaints from community groups and environmental activists who charge that the facilities expose the surrounding communities to greater environmental risk than the general population. In response, the facilities point out that they contribute to the economic growth of the surrounding communities… more
Date: May 31, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Employees' Health Plans: Premium Growth and OPM's Role in Negotiating Benefits

Description: 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 p… more
Date: December 31, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Skilled Nursing Facilities: Medicare Payments Exceed Costs for Most but Not All Facilities

Description: 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 accoun… more
Date: December 31, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Immigration Benefit Fraud: Focused Approach Is Needed to Address Problems

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) officials believe that some aliens are using the benefit application process to carry out illegal activities, such as crimes of violence, narcotics trafficking, and terrorism. The extent of immigration benefit fraud is unknown, but INS officials and others believe that this problem will increase as smugglers and other criminal enterprises use fraud to bring illegal … more
Date: January 31, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Air Traffic Control: Impact of Revised Personnel Relocation Policies Is Uncertain

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2001, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) spent more than $15 million to move air traffic controllers and their managers to new permanent duty locations. FAA classifies the funds that it spends for these moves as permanent change of station (PCS) benefits. In 1998, as part of a broader effort to reform its personnel policies, FAA changed its policies on PCS benefits. Instead of fully reimb… more
Date: October 31, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Housing Assistance: Comparing the Characteristics and Costs of Housing Programs

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "For more than 60 years, the federal government has sought to improve the condition and reduce the cost of rental housing for poor Americans. In fiscal year 1999, 5.2 million low-income households received $28.7 billion in federal housing assistance through more than a dozen programs. Despite this assistance, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimates that 9 million other very-low-income ho… more
Date: January 31, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Defense Acquisitions: Navy Needs Plan to Address Rising Prices in Aviation Parts

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since fiscal year 1999, the Navy's budget for repairing spare parts to support its aviation weapons systems has increased by about 50 percent, from $1.2 billion to $1.8 billion. Some military commands have asserted that the escalating cost of these parts has adversely impacted the funds available for the readiness of military forces. Overall, the prices for Navy repairable spare parts continue to climb for the… more
Date: May 31, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Severe Wildland Fires: Leadership and Accountability Needed to Reduce Risks to Communities and Resources

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Dangerous accumulations of brush, small trees, and other vegetation on federal lands, particularly in the western United States, have helped fuel devastating wildfires in recent years. Although a single focal point is critical for directing firefighting efforts by federal, state, and local governments, GAO found a lack of clearly defined leadership at the federal level. Authority and responsibility remain frag… more
Date: January 31, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Environmental Protection: Overcoming Obstacles to Innovative State Regulatory Programs

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issues regulations that states, localities, and private companies must comply with under the existing federal approach to environmental protection. This approach has been widely criticized for being costly, inflexible, and ineffective in addressing some of the nation's most pressing environmental problems. The states have used several methods to obtain EPA approval for… more
Date: January 31, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Intellectual Property: Federal Agency Efforts in Transferring and Reporting New Technology

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government is a primary sponsor of research conducted in the United States, expending during fiscal year 2001 $19.4 billion for research performed by federal employees and $62.2 billion for research conducted under contracts and grants. Some of this research leads to the development of technology that can be patented, licensed, and made available to the public through the introduction of new produc… more
Date: October 31, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Student Aid: Progress in Integrating Pell Grant and Direct Loan Systems and Processes, but Critical Work Remains

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "To address system problems and other long-standing management weaknesses, in 1998, the Congress created a discrete unit within the Department of Education, the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA). This office subsequently adopted a new approach to systems integration using middleware (a type of software that can allow an application to access data residing in different databases) and Extensible Markup Language… more
Date: December 31, 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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Financial Management Service: Significant Weaknesses in Computer Controls Continue

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Financial Management Service's (FMS) overall security control environment continues to be ineffective in identifying, deterring, and responding to computer control weaknesses promptly. Consequently, billions of dollars of payments and collections are at significant risk of loss or fraud, sensitive data are at risk of inappropriate disclosure, and critical computer-based operations are vulnerable to serious… more
Date: January 31, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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2000 Census: Complete Costs of Coverage Evaluation Programs Are Not Available

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "To assess the quality of the population data collected in the 2000 Census, the U.S. Census Bureau conducted the Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation (A.C.E.) program, which focused on a survey of housing units designed to estimate the number of people missed, counted more than once, or otherwise improperly counted in the census. GAO reviewed the life cycle costs of the A.C.E. program and its predecessor, the Integ… more
Date: October 31, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Building Security: Security Responsibilities for Federally Owned and Leased Facilities

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report responds to a Congressional request for information regarding critical infrastructure protection within the federal government. In May 1998, Presidential Decision Directive 63 was issued with the intent to eliminate any significant vulnerability to both physical and cyber attacks on the nation's critical infrastructure. It makes every department and agency of the federal government responsible for … more
Date: October 31, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Public Housing: HUD and Public Housing Agencies' Experiences with Fiscal Year 2000 Plan Requirements

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 was designed to improve the quality of public housing and the lives of its residents. Since fiscal year 2000, housing agencies managing low-rent or tenant-based Section 8 units have been required to develop and submit five-year and annual plans. As of January 2002, 98 percent of public housing agency plans for fiscal year 2000 had been submitted and appro… more
Date: May 31, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Human Services Integration: Results of a GAO Cosponsored Conference on Modernizing Information Systems

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 replaced the Aid to Families With Dependent Children program with a block grant to states that provide Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). TANF strongly emphasizes work and job replacement and sets a five-year lifetime limit on federally funded TANF assistance to adults. To meet information needs for welfare reform, informa… more
Date: January 31, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Medicare+Choice: Selected Program Requirements and Other Entities' Standards for HMOs

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since the early 1980s, health maintenance organizations (HMO) have entered into risk-based contracts with Medicare and offered beneficiaries an alternative to the traditional fee-for-service (FFS) program. By 1997, 5.2 million Medicare beneficiaries were enrolled in an HMO. Although Medicare HMOs were available in most urban areas, they were often unavailable in rural areas. Medicare+Choice (M+C) has HMO requi… more
Date: October 31, 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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Highway Infrastructure: Interstate Physical Conditions Have Improved, but Congestion and Other Pressures Continue

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Federal spending on Interstate highways has contributed to changes in residential and business land-use patterns. In 1991, GAO raised concerns about the condition of Interstate highways and rising levels of congestion. The original purposes for the Interstate system were to provide for efficient long-distance travel, support defense, and connect metropolitan and industrial areas. Today, the most important role… more
Date: May 31, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Information Technology: Issues Affecting Cost Impact of Navy Marine Corps Intranet Need to Be Resolved

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Under the Navy Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI) contract, the Department of the Navy is obtaining information technology (IT) services that are to allow it to replace thousands of independent networks, applications, hardware, and software with one secure network. The National Defense Authorization Act of 2002 directed GAO to review the impact on IT costs of NMCI at Navy shipyards and air depots, which are predomin… more
Date: October 31, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Defense Management: Industry Practices Can Help Military Exchanges Better Assure That Their Goods Are Not Made by Child or Forced Labor

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The military exchanges operate retail stores similar to department stores in more than 1,500 locations worldwide. The exchanges stock merchandise from many sources, including name-brand companies, brokers and importers, and overseas firms. Reports of worker rights abuses, such as child labor and forced overtime, and antilabor practices have led human rights groups and the press to scrutinize working conditions… more
Date: January 31, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Environmental Protection: Issues Raised by the Reorganization of EPA's Ombudsman Function

Description: A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Federal ombudsmen help their agencies be more responsive to the public through the impartial investigation of citizens' complaints. Professional standards for ombudsmen incorporate certain core principles, such as independence and impartiality. In July 2001, GAO reported that key aspects of EPA's hazardous waste ombudsman were not consistent with professional standards, particularly with regard to independence… more
Date: October 31, 2002
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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