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The Dept. of Educ. (DoE) has a history of financial mgmt. problems, including serious internal control weaknesses, which have affected DoE's ability to provide reliable financial info. and to maintain the financial integrity of its operations. DoE's student financial assistance programs is a high-risk area for waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement. An audit was done of selected disbursement processes at DoE that are particularly susceptible to waste, fraud, and abuse. This report assesses the adequacy of internal controls over: (1) grant and loan disbursements, (2) third party drafts, and (3) gov't. purchase cards, and determines if any fraudulent or otherwise improper payments were made.

This report summarizes the need to improve federal oversight of state Medicaid financial activities. The federal government and the states share responsibility for the fiscal integrity and financial management of the jointly funded Medicaid program. In fiscal year 2000, the Medicaid program served about 33.4 million low-income families as well as certain elderly, blind, and disabled persons at a cost of $119 billion to the federal government and $88 billion to the states for program payments and administrative expenses. Developing baseline information on Medicaid issues at greatest risk for improper payments and measuring improvements in program management against that baseline is key to achieving effective financial oversight. Determining the level of state activities in place to monitor and control Medicaid finances is also critical to determining the extent and type of control techniques as well as the amount of resources CMS must apply at the federal level to oversee the program adequately. Establishing clear lines of authority and performance standards for CMS oversight would also provide for a more efficient, effective and accountable Medicaid program.

The United States has established a national policy for combating chemical and biological terrorism and managing the consequences of terrorist attacks. In the event of a domestic chemical or biological terrorist incident, local and state governments would be the first to respond in assisting civilian victims. If the consequences of such an incident overwhelmed state and local capabilities, federal assistance could be given to support their efforts. Critical to that assistance are the chemical and biological medical supplies maintained by OEP, CDC, VA, and CBIRF.

The Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) provided, among other things, funding by transfer to the FBI to carry out specific purposes of the Health Care Fraud & Abuse Control Program. There was concern about a shift in FBI resources from health care fraud investigations to counter-terrorism activities after Sept. 11, 2001. This report reviews FBI¿s accountability for the funds transferred under HIPAA for FY2000 through 2003. The report determined: (1) whether FBI had an adequate approach for ensuring the proper use of the HIPAA transfers; & (2) the extent to which FBI had expended these transferred funds on health care fraud investigations in FY2000 through 2003. Includes recommendations. Charts & tables.

The Trilogy project is the FBI's largest info. tech. (IT) upgrade to date. While ultimately successful in providing updated IT infrastructure & systems, Trilogy was not a success with regard to upgrading FBI's investigative applications. Further, the project was plagued with missed milestones & escalating costs, which eventually totaled $537 million. This report determines whether: (1) internal controls provided reasonable assurance that improper payment of unallowable contractor costs would not be made or would be detected in the normal course of bus.; (2) payments to contractors were properly supported as a valid use of gov't. funds, & (3) FBI maintained proper accountability for assets purchased with Trilogy project funds. Charts & tables.