From: jlohrmann@igc.apc.org
Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc
Date: 25 Jan 93 23:14 PST
Subject: GAO Transition Reports - Abstracts
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1483600070:000:37186
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!jlohrmann    Jan 25 23:14:00 1993


From: <jlohrmann>
Subject: GAO Transition Reports - Abstracts

From: Lee Sakkas <URLS@MARIST.BITNET>
Subject:      GAO Transistion Reports - Abstracts
To: Multiple recipients of list CLINTON <CLINTON@MARIST.BITNET>

The reports abstracted below are now available via Anonymous FTP from the
GAO.  I have downloaded them and propose to post them to CLINTON one at
a time - one a day.  They average about 35000 bytes per report.  I will
identify each report with GAO Report - SUBJECT  in the subject line
giving you the opportunity to exercise your delete key.  This is the
transition info paid for by us, the taxpayer, now available to us, the
taxpayer.  Do I sense a trend?  Lee Sakkas
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        U.S. General Accounting Office
                       Transition Report Series - 1993

Files containing the text of the following reports are available via
Anonymous FTP from the GAO-REPORTS subdirectory at CU.NIH.GOV.

1.     Budget Issues.  OCG-93-1TR.  December 1992.  35 pp.
       (The file is CG01T93.TXT  40017 Bytes)

       Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO summarized issues
       concerning the federal budget deficit problem and the factors
       involved in reducing the deficit.

       GAO noted that: (1) the 1992 budget deficit totalled $290
       billion or 4.9 percent of the gross national product; (2) the
       actual budget deficit totalled $386 billion, but was partially
       offset by $90 billion in trust fund surpluses; (3) the trust
       fund surplus is expected to decrease as the baby boom
       generation reaches retirement; (4) the 1992 deficit was held
       down by delaying funding for the savings and loan crisis and
       many unfunded costs resulting from future claims; (5) the
       deficit has grown because of the recession, inadequate cuts in
       domestic programs, and a combination of an accelerated defense
       buildup and a simultaneous reduction in taxes; and (6) solving
       the deficit problem will require a long-term fiscal policy path
       based on macroeconomic grounds, emphasizing the budget's
       investment portion, and examining the areas where the budget
       has had the largest increase.

2.     Investment.  OCG-93-2TR.  December 1992.  35 pp.  (The file is
       CG02T93.TXT  38862 Bytes)

       Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the federal
       government's need to increase investment, both public and
       private.

       GAO found that: (1) during the last two decades, growth in U.S.
       productivity has slowed substantially; (2) U.S. investment is
       at its lowest level in three decades; (3) the federal
       government's impact on state and local governments and the
       private sector in the last decade has been increasingly
       unfavorable; and (4) recent trends in the investment share of
       the budget represent the accumulated results of a large number
       of individual budget decisions regarding dozens of programs.

3.     Government Management Issues.  OCG-93-3TR.  December 1992.  45
       pp.  (The file is CG03T93.TXT  49297 Bytes)

       Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO summarized information
       on federal government management issues, focusing on: (1) the
       constraints and incentives that managers contend with to
       achieve program results; and (2) key elements for federal
       management improvement.

       GAO noted that: (1) many agencies lack a strategic vision for
       the future, adequate oversight and evaluation systems, and
       qualified personnel; (2) reasons for inefficient government
       management include the federal government's overwhelming size,
       political environment, and operating cultures that resist
       agency mission definition, lack of control over its services,
       and reliance on noncareer executive program managers; (3) the
       federal government could learn effective management techniques
       from other foreign and state governments' experiences; and (4)
       to improve the effectiveness of government management, the
       federal government needs long-term strategic plans, improved
       financial and program information, a results-oriented
       environment, continuity in leadership, a revised budget
       process, reorganization of its central management agencies, and
       revised agency organizational structures.

4.     Financial Management Issues.  OCG-93-4TR.  December 1992.  43
       pp.  (The file is CG04T93.TXT  44599 Bytes)

       Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed major
       federal policy, management, and program issues facing Congress
       and the new administration in the area of financial management.

       GAO found that: (1) widespread financial management weaknesses
       are crippling the effectiveness of the federal government; (2)
       financial data are often inadequate or erroneous; (3) financial
       systems and controls are unreliable; (4) results-oriented
       reports on the financial condition of the United States are
       largely nonexistent; and (5) the Chief Financial Officers Act
       established a leadership structure consisting of a new Deputy
       Director for Management and a Controller in the Office of
       Management and Budget and qualified chief financial officers in
       all major agencies.

5.     Information Management and Technology Issues.  OCG-93-5TR.
       December 1992.  33 pp.  (The file is CG05T93.TXT  34354 Bytes)

       Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed widespread
       weaknesses in federal information resources management.

       GAO found that: (1) the government is falling behind the
       private sector in using information technology to streamline
       its operations and improve service to the public; (2) agencies
       may lack the essential information needed to manage programs
       effectively; (3) projects have run into serious trouble due to
       lack of modernized government information systems; (4) agency
       executives do not pay enough attention to the role of
       information technology in achieving fundamental improvements in
       agency operations; and (5) the agency unit responsible for
       information resources management often lacks appropriate
       authority to use technology to reduce administrative costs,
       increase productivity, and enhance service to the public.

6.     Program Evaluation Issues.  OCG-93-6TR.  December 1992.  Letter
       Report. 30 pp.  (The file is CG06T93.TXT  32690 Bytes)

       Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the need for
       sound, evaluative information on how federal programs are
       operating and what they are actually accomplishing.

       GAO found that: (1) program evaluations contribute systematic
       information to federal decisionmaking; (2) between 1984 and
       1988, there was a 12-percent decline in the number of
       professional staff in agency program evaluation units; (3)
       funds for program evaluation dropped 37 percent between 1980
       and 1984; (4) program implementation evaluations help agencies
       understand why their outreach may not be successful and the
       barriers to overcome before participation can increase; and (5)
       some agencies have conducted evaluation studies, but the
       information produced is either flawed or improperly used for
       budget policy.

7.     The Public Service.  OCG-93-7TR.  December 1992.  33 pp.
       (The file is CG07T93.TXT  32993 Bytes)

       Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO summarized issues
       relating to the need to acquire and retain a competent and
       motivated federal work force.

       GAO noted that: (1) to attract and retain a high-quality work
       force, the government must sustain the initiatives begun in the
       last 4 years and respond to other emerging issues; (2) federal
       managers do not always have the flexibility, systems, or
       processes they need to downsize the federal work force
       effectively; and (3) issues facing the federal government
       include modernizing employment practices, enhancing federal
       work-force management, fully implementing pay reform, improving
       federal recruitment efforts and labor-management relations, and
       reforming health benefits.

8.     Health Care Reform.  OCG-93-8TR.  December 1992.  34 pp.
       (The file is CG08T93.TXT  34841 Bytes)

       Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO summarized federal
       policy and management issues relating to health care reform.

       GAO noted that: (1) the new administration faces the challenge
       of finding a better way to manage and finance the U.S. health
       care system while preserving high-quality innovative medical
       care; (2) the United States has the highest health care system
       costs in the industrialized world, but is not serving large
       portions of the population; (3) nearly 34 million Americans are
       uninsured and millions more are underinsured; (4) the United
       States needs to adopt features common to health care programs
       in other countries; and (5) a reformed U.S. system must build
       on the strengths of the nation's current health care system.

9.     National Security Issues.  OCG-93-9TR.  December 1992.  Letter
       Report. 42 pp.  (The file is CG09T93.TXT  44752 Bytes)

       Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed major defense
       policy, management, and program issues, focusing on: (1)
       military roles and missions; (2) managing the downsized and
       restructured military force; (3) U.S. commitments, forward
       presence, and security assistance programs; (4) the spread of
       mass destruction weapons; (5) weapons system acquisition; (6)
       environmental concerns; (7) inventory and other management
       concerns; and (8) financial management.

       GAO found that: (1) the reassessment of military roles and
       missions will require a change in the defense establishment's
       organizational culture and could lead to more cost-effective
       means of meeting defense needs; (2) the Department of Defense
       (DOD) will need to maintain high levels of military capability
       while reducing the number of military and civilian employees;
       (3) worldwide political realignments necessitate the change in
       U.S. overseas military presence and security assistance
       programs to reflect new U.S. commitments to allies and others;
       (4) increased international cooperation, with U.S. leadership,
       will be required to control international technology transfers
       and to dispose of nuclear and chemical weapons; (5) DOD needs
       to reform its acquisition process in the face of budget cuts,
       but DOD will need to maintain industrial base supporting
       security needs; (6) DOD faces many environmental challenges,
       such as complying with clean air and water legislation and
       cleaning up hazardous wastes; and (7) DOD needs to continues
       its initiatives in inventory acquisition, management, and
       control, and in personnel and financial management to ensure
       efficiency and cost control.

10.    Financial Services Industry Issues.  OCG-93-10TR.  December
       1992.  32 pp.  (The file is CG10T93.TXT  33514 Bytes)

       Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO summarized issues
       relating to the federal government's regulation of and
       relationship with the financial services industry, focusing on:
       (1) federal regulation of financial institutions; (2) rapidly
       changing financial markets; and (3) federal regulation of
       insurance industry solvency.

       GAO noted that the: (1) federal government's many legislative
       and administrative attempts to address weaknesses and
       vulnerabilities in the financial services industry do not
       completely address such areas as the cleanup of the savings and
       loan association industry, modernization of the financial
       regulation structure, changes in the financial services
       industry, and serious weaknesses in insurance industry
       regulation; (2) federal government must be able to respond to
       such developments as the globalization of trading markets, new
       trading systems, new financial products, oversight of the
       investment advisory industry, and government securities
       markets; and (3) federal government has ultimate responsibility
       for the safety and soundness of insurance solvency regulation
       and can enhance regulation consistency and strengthen states'
       regulatory capabilities.

11.    International Trade Issues.  OCG-93-11TR.  December 1992.
       27 pp.  (The file is CG11T93.TXT  28858 Bytes)

       Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO summarized issues
       relating to the federal government's role in international
       trade, focusing on: (1) enhancing U.S. competitiveness in an
       interdependent world; (2) promoting U.S. exports; (3) managing
       the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) export programs; (4)
       negotiating and administering trade agreements; and (5)
       analyzing national security-related foreign investments.

       GAO noted that: (1) international trade has become an
       increasingly critical part of the U.S. economy, although many
       believe that the United States is losing ground in global
       competition; (2) the Department of Commerce and USDA have
       addressed some organizational and management problems in their
       export promotion programs, but there is still a need for a
       comprehensive, government-wide strategy for those programs,
       which are spread among several agencies; (3) although
       multilateral trade negotiations which could enhance U.S.
       exports have not been completed, the United States has
       successfully advanced some bilateral trade agreements; and (4)
       the federal government needs to enhance its procedures for
       monitoring and analyzing proposed foreign investments in U.S.
       firms conducting national security-related work.

12.    Commerce Issues.  OCG-93-12TR.  December 1992.  32 pp.
       (The file is CG12T93.TXT  34374 Bytes)

       Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO summarized information
       on federal commerce issues, focusing on the Department of
       Commerce's: (1) role in competitiveness issues; (2)
       infrastructure investment requirements and mission
       effectiveness; (3) improvement of its economic statistics; and
       (4) planning of a more accurate, less costly 2000 Census.

       GAO noted that: (1) the current federal structure may not
       facilitate productivity and competitiveness improvement; (2)
       Commerce lacks the prominence, resources, and a clear strategy
       to significantly affect competitive improvement; (3) Commerce
       estimates that it needs investments totalling $7.4 billion to
       repair its deteriorating infrastructure; (4) a decentralized
       statistical system and a lack of leadership and coordination
       have resulted in a lack of reliable data on which Commerce
       could base policy; (5) the 1990 census contained 14.1 million
       errors, cost 25 percent more than the 1980 census, and
       continued the trend of steady decline in census accuracy; and
       (6) Commerce needs to decide on the content of the
       questionnaire, whether to use sampling, and to improve the
       address list and geographic information.

13.    Energy Issues.  OCG-93-13TR.  December 1992.  31 pp.
       (The file is CG13T93.TXT  32781 Bytes)

       Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO summarized information
       on federal energy and science issues facing Congress and the
       new administration.

       GAO noted that: (1) the United States depends upon petroleum
       and other fossil fuels for 85 percent of its general energy
       consumption and 70 percent of its energy production; (2)
       petroleum's low price discouraged development of alternative
       fuels, limited efforts to conserve energy, and increased U.S.
       dependence on foreign oil sources; (3) additional market
       incentives such as new regulatory and tax policies are needed
       to make energy prices better reflect societal costs; (4) in
       response to changing world events and safety problems within
       the nuclear weapons complex, DOE has shifted its mission from
       nuclear weapons production to environmental restoration and
       waste management; (5) DOE laboratories must focus their mission
       away from basic nuclear research and toward improving economic
       competitiveness, environmental clean-up management, and
       developing U.S. infrastructure; (6) the DOE planned waste
       disposal repository is seriously behind schedule, over budget,
       and has not resolved technical, logistical, and environmental
       impact issues; and (7) DOE, in conjunction with other agencies,
       needs to address nuclear facility safety and nonproliferation
       concerns in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

14.    Transportation Issues.  OCG-93-14TR.  December 1992.  Letter
       Report.  34 pp.  (The file is CG14T93.TXT  39929 Bytes)

       Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed major federal
       policy, management, and program issues involving
       transportation, focusing on: (1) investment in surface
       transportation infrastructure; (2) modernization of air traffic
       control and airports; (3) transportation safety; (4) airline
       competition and access to international markets; (5) Coast
       Guard acquisition programs and environmental protection; and
       (6) financial systems and grant oversight.

       GAO found that: (1) congressional legislation guided investment
       in surface transportation facilities by emphasizing integrated
       transportation systems and supporting new technology; (2) the
       air traffic control system modernization and airport
       development programs need set goals and improved management to
       make the best use of available funding; (3) the Department of
       Transportation (DOT) needs to strengthen its regulation and
       enforcement of safety standards, and to better target its
       resources at safety risks; (4) DOT needs to eliminate barriers
       to airline competition, enhance access to capital for weaker
       airlines, and facilitate access to foreign markets; (5) the
       Coast Guard needs to improve its acquisition process and
       environmental oversight; and (6) DOT needs to consolidate its
       financial systems and improve grant oversight.

15.    Food and Agriculture Issues.  OCG-93-15TR.  December 1992.  34
       pp.  (The file is CG15T93.TXT  37989 Bytes)

       Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed major
       federal policy, management, and program issues facing Congress
       and the new administration in the areas of food and
       agriculture.

       GAO found that: (1) since 1988, fiscal pressures have enhanced
       the importance of reforming farm credit and risk protection, as
       well as coordinating federal programs for ensuring food safety
       and quality; (2) the Department of Agriculture (USDA) needs to
       simplify and streamline its organization to become more
       accessible and responsive to its highly diverse clients; (3)
       the 1985 and 1990 farm bills moved U.S. agriculture towards a
       greater market orientation, helping to make U.S. farm
       commodities more competitive in the marketplace; (4) several
       USDA programs aimed at providing loans, crop insurance, and
       disaster assistance to farmers expose the federal government to
       high risks of large financial losses; (5) many of the federal
       assistance programs target the agricultural sector even though
       farming is no longer a major economic base for many rural
       communities; and (6) there are consistently documented
       structural flaws in the federal government's food safety
       system.

16.    Environmental Protection Issues.  OCG-93-16TR.  December 1992.
       29 pp. (The file is CG16T93.TXT  31151 Bytes)

       Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the major
       environmental policy issues facing Congress and the new
       administration.

       GAO found that: (1) the federal budget deficit and the Omnibus
       Budget Reconciliation Act make increased funding for the
       Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unlikely; (2) a key to
       improved environmental management is establishing priorities
       among programs on the basis of the risk to public health and
       the environment; (3) greater use of nonregulatory alternatives
       will help industry achieve greater cost efficiencies in
       complying with environmental standards; (4) EPA has not
       collected the information necessary to judge the success of its
       programs; and (5) an unprecedented level of international
       cooperation will be needed to resolve the environmental
       problems.

17.    Natural Resources Management Issues.  OCG-93-17TR.  December
       1992. 35 pp.  (The file is CG17T93.TXT  38083 Bytes)

       Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed major
       federal policy, management, and program issues facing Congress
       and the new administration in natural resources management.

       GAO found that: (1) increases in annual appropriations for
       managing natural resources have not been large enough to
       fulfill infrastructure and staffing needs; (2) an alternative
       for addressing the declining condition of the nation's natural
       resources and related infrastructure is to obtain new sources
       of funding; and (3) there is a need for providing the proper
       balance between the nation's natural resources use and
       conservation for future generations.

18.    Education Issues.  OCG-93-18TR.  December 1992.  38 pp.
       (The file is CG18T93.TXT  42491 Bytes)

       Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO summarized information
       on education issues facing Congress and the new administration,
       focusing on the need to: (1) enhance federal efforts to meet
       national educational goals; (2) reduce the cost and preserve
       the integrity of the student loan program; and (3) strengthen
       departmental management.

       GAO noted that: (1) the current education system is not meeting
       industry standards for a more highly skilled work force; (2)
       while the United States spends $221 billion in cooperative
       education, it fails to provide basic reasoning and problem-
       solving skills to its students and remains behind other
       industrialized nations in the areas of mathematics and science;
       (3) one in three youths has insufficient skills to gain entry
       level, semiskilled, or high wage occupations; (4) the
       Department of Education needs to help schools adjust to a
       higher proportion of poor, minority, and immigrant children,
       support development of higher educational standards, develop
       new forms of student assessment, assist program integration,
       develop an effective national strategy for school-to-work
       transition, and promote school reform while maximizing its
       resources; and (5) Education must correct general, human
       resource, and financial managerial problems, particularly with
       its student assistance programs.

19.    Labor Issues.  OCG-93-19TR.  December 1992.  38 pp.
       (The file is CG19T93.TXT  41450 Bytes)

       Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO summarized information
       on federal labor issues facing Congress and the new
       administration.

       GAO noted that: (1) the Department of Labor needs to foster
       competition and assist workers to adapt to the changing
       environment of the work place; (2) Labor faces significant
       challenges because of an inadequate education system, an
       increasing unskilled work force, and a large number of
       temporarily dislocated workers who need job retraining; (3)
       problems with some of the government's 125 employment programs
       include inadequate state and federal oversight, inefficient
       service, a lack of coordination between programs, extreme high
       cost, and questionable program effectiveness; (4) Labor needs
       to provide workers with greater access to unemployment and
       retirement benefits; and (5) solutions to ensure the safety and
       health of workers are needed.

20.    Health and Human Services Issues.  OCG-93-20TR.  December 1992.
       33 pp. (The file is CG20T93.TXT  36319 Bytes)

       Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO summarized information
       on federal health and human services issues facing Congress and
       the new administration.

       GAO noted that: (1) social security, Medicare, and Medicaid
       accounted for 87 percent of the Department of Health and Human
       Service's (HHS) budget; (2) challenges facing HHS include
       ensuring health care access, controlling escalating costs, and
       curbing Medicare losses through the detection of fraud, waste,
       and abuse; (3) public confidence needs to be restored in the
       social security system by ensuring that adequate funds are
       present during economic downturns, providing better benefit
       information, and increasing the timely distribution of
       benefits; (4) welfare reform implementation has been slowed by
       increasing caseloads and state budget constraints; and (5) HHS
       needs to upgrade current child welfare programs by focusing on
       prevention and early intervention and creating a federal
       strategy for collecting data.

21.    Veterans Affairs Issues.  OCG-93-21TR.  December 1992.  31 pp.
       (The file is CG21T93.TXT  32985 Bytes)

       Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO summarized federal
       policy and management issues relating to veterans affairs.

       GAO noted that: (1) the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
       delivers a wide array of medical disability compensation,
       pension, housing, insurance, education, and burial services in
       more than 1,000 facilities at a cost of $34 billion annually;
       (2) to contain the rising federal deficit, VA will have to
       operate its programs and activities with constrained resources;
       (3) VA has numerous opportunities to operate more cost
       effectively while preserving or enhancing the quality of
       services provided to veterans; (4) national health reform could
       be the most significant challenge facing VA since it could
       reduce demand for inpatient care by almost 50 percent; and (5)
       other challenges facing VA include how best to serve an aging
       veteran population, fully incorporate evolving medical
       treatment patterns, and innovating claims-processing
       technologies.

22.    Housing and Community Development Issues.  OCG-93-22TR.
       December 1992. 29 pp.  (The file is CG22T93.TXT  29960 Bytes)t

       Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO summarized issues
       relating to housing and community development.

       GAO noted that housing and community development issues
       included: (1) providing affordable housing for the nation's
       poor; (2) strengthening the Department of Housing and Urban
       Development's management; (3) controlling housing loan and
       lead-based paint cost exposure; (4) promoting community
       development; and (5) reexamining strategies for responding to
       disasters.

23.    Justice Issues.  OCG-93-23TR.  December 1992.  39 pp.
       (The file is CG23T93.TXT  37804 Bytes)

       Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO summarized federal
       policy and management issues in the justice area.

       GAO noted that justice issues include: (1) strengthening
       leadership and management functions at the Department of
       Justice; (2) investigating and prosecuting white-collar crime;
       (3) making needed policy and management decisions on
       immigration issues; (4) responding to a rapid rise in the
       federal prison population; and (5) making the government's
       antidrug efforts more effective.

24.    Internal Revenue Service Issues.  OCG-93-24TR.  December 1992.
       33 pp.  (The file is CG24T93.TXT  33057 Bytes)

       Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed major policy,
       management, and program issues at the Internal Revenue Service
       (IRS), focusing on: (1) tax system administration; (2) computer
       system modernization; (3) human resources; (4) the IRS
       strategic business process; (5) tax gap reduction; (6)
       financial management; (7) criminal investigation resources
       management; and (8) calls for a consumption tax.

       GAO found that: (1) IRS needs to reassess its traditional
       functional and organizational structure to improve its tax
       system administration; (2) tax systems modernization requires
       the redesign of IRS automated systems and the formalization of
       an operational strategy; (3) IRS needs better personnel
       management, training, and integrity in the face of its
       modernization program and personnel downsizing; (4) to support
       its strategic business process, IRS needs to develop
       performance measures related to voluntary compliance, reducing
       taxpayer burden, and improving productivity and customer
       satisfaction; (5) IRS needs to improve its management of unpaid
       tax collections, increase voluntary compliance, and rethink its
       enforcement approach; (6) IRS needs to integrate its financial
       management systems to accurately allocate taxes and provide
       comprehensive and reliable financial information; (7) IRS needs
       to prioritize the demands on its criminal investigation
       resources; and (8) IRS needs to be able to quickly analyze its
       administration of any new consumption tax and advise
       policymakers of its implications.

25.    Foreign Economic Assistance Issues.  OCG-93-25TR.  December
       1992.  28 pp.  (The file is CG25T93.TXT  26636 Bytes)

       Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO summarized issues
       relating to foreign economic assistance, focusing on: (1) a
       reassessment of the goals and rationale for foreign economic
       assistance; (2) management accountability in aid programs; (3)
       the Agency for International Development's (AID) work-force
       planning system; and (4) effective information resource
       management and financial management and accounting systems.

       GAO noted that: (1) the federal government needs to
       comprehensively reexamine foreign assistance goals and
       objectives, and AID needs to clearly articulate its strategic
       mission; (2) AID lacks a strong centralized policy and
       priority-setting mechanisms and systems to ensure the
       accountability of its decentralized units; (3) AID has not
       systematically planned for its work-force needs, and many AID
       employees lack the skills they need to perform their
       responsibilities; (4) AID information resource management
       include undefined information needs, duplicate data, redundant,
       outdated, and unintegrated information systems, and nonexistent
       or inadequate support, standards, and procedures; and (5)
       serious problems in AID accounting and financial reporting
       systems hinder its appropriations tracking, property control
       and inventory, and resource tracking.

26.    Foreign Affairs Issues.  OCG-93-26TR.  December 1992.  34 pp.
       (The file is CG26T93.TXT  32702 Bytes)

       Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO summarized issues
       relating to major foreign affairs policy, management, and
       programs, focusing on: (1) post-Cold War diplomacy; (2)
       international broadcasting; (3) program management; (4) U.S.
       participation in United Nations (UN) organizations; (5)
       international narcotics control programs; and (6) refugee
       program administration.

       GAO noted that: (1) the United States faces a challenge in
       adjusting its foreign policy and diplomatic activities to a
       more global foreign policy that promotes broader U.S.
       interests; (2) many believe that Radio Free Europe and Radio
       Liberty broadcasts are relics of the Cold War and should be
       terminated; (3) the Department of State has key management
       control weaknesses in its financial operations, personnel
       management, property management, foreign support services, and
       cashiering operations; (4) UN management reforms have
       encouraged the United States to pay its assessed contributions
       as a UN member; (5) State needs to streamline its
       counternarcotics programming and management system by designing
       and using better review and evaluation procedures and promoting
       more international cooperation and support; and (6) the federal
       government needs to comprehensively review its role in refugee
       crises and repatriations, the impact of increased refugee
       admissions, and the apportionment of admissions among different
       refugee populations.

27.    NASA Issues.  OCG-93-27TR.  December 1992.  25 pp.
       (The file is CG27T93.TXT  25576 Bytes)

       Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed major policy,
       management, and program issues at the National Aeronautics and
       Space Administration (NASA), focusing on: (1) aligning plans
       with likely budgets; (2) systems development management; (3)
       improving operations and oversight; and (4) preserving U.S.
       aeronautics leadership.

       GAO found that NASA: (1) strategic and program plans call for
       unrealistic funding levels well above what will be available,
       but NASA is working to improve its strategic plan; (2) needs to
       reevaluate its research and development efforts to make them
       more cost-effective, and recognize changes in priorities and
       needs; (3) needs to improve its operations management and
       oversight of its space shuttle program to enhance efficiency
       and effectiveness; and (4) needs to improve its budgetary
       support for the U.S. aeronautics industry and give more
       emphasis to systems technology.

28.    General Services Issues.  OCG-93-28TR.  December 1992.  31 pp.
       (The file is CG28T93.TXT  31371 Bytes)

       Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed major policy,
       management, and program issues at the General Services
       Administration (GSA), focusing on: (1) GSA roles as provider
       and regulator; (2) improving delivery services based on
       entrepreneurial and competitive principles; (3) internal
       management systems; (4) GSA oversight of governmentwide
       procurement practices; and (5) congressional oversight.

       GAO found that: (1) GSA continues to be preoccupied with the
       delivery of services rather than its policy and regulatory
       functions, to the detriment of efficient asset management, but
       GSA recently established an organization to emphasize a more
       proactive role in governmentwide asset management; (2) GSA
       needs to operate in a more business-like mode to increase
       efficiency and cost savings; (3) GSA needs to improve its
       general management and internal control systems to guard
       against waste, fraud, and abuse; (4) GSA needs to improve its
       governmentwide procurement programs to eliminate poor contract
       performers and common or systemic problems; and (5) current GSA
       practices and divided congressional jurisdiction hinder
       Congress' oversight of GSA.

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