Language

Operating manual for the de Phanger precision long counter (PLC) (open access)

Operating manual for the de Phanger precision long counter (PLC)

The setting up, calibration operation, characteristics, and problems of the precision long counter for neutron intensity measurements are discussed. (WHK)
Date: February 6, 1978
Creator: Slaughter, D.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Establishment and maintenance of a coal sample bank and data base (open access)

Establishment and maintenance of a coal sample bank and data base

Headspace oxygen contents of several designated drums containing {minus}l inch and {minus}{1/4} inch coal were measured. These measurements were later discontinued by agreement with the Project Manager, as the leakage of plastic drums and buckets has been well documented. During the current reporting period a total of 65 data printouts were distributed. In addition, 10 special data requests were fulfilled by either search/sort and printout or creation of a data disk, resulting in distribution of limited information on 4,479 samples. Several preliminary requests for Sample Bank and Data Base information and price quotations have also been handled. Four hundred copies of the 61-page second edition of the booklet The Penn State Coal Sample Bank and Data Base'' were received from the printer. Changes in format have allowed increased content in fewer pages, to reduce printing and mailing costs. Three hundred thirty-nine copies were distributed. Data generated on samples DECS-1 through DECS-14 were added to the Penn State Coal Data Base. Map reference data were verified for all 14 samples.
Date: February 6, 1991
Creator: Davis, A.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Edge blurring in stacked x-ray film screen combinations. [Flash radiography for nuclear weapons design] (open access)

Edge blurring in stacked x-ray film screen combinations. [Flash radiography for nuclear weapons design]

The Advanced Experiments Group of B-Division, LLNL, has been seeking to improve the sensitivity and spatial resolution of stacked film screens for bremsstrahlung flash radiography of imploding, dense metal shells. In the work reported here, we experimentally measured the spreading of the x-ray shadow of the edge of a uranium block in two film-and-screen combinations. We also used the SANDYL code, which models photon and electron scattering, to calculate the theoretical edge spreading in an array of films and screens. Experimentally, the uranium edge was spread to a width of 1.7 mm in the combination 0.15-mm-Ta/NDT9-XAR5, and 1.5 mm in the combination 0.25-mm-Ta/NDT6-XAR5. The theoretical calculation agreed with these results.
Date: February 6, 1984
Creator: Lyle, J.W.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Effects of high beam rates on TPC's (open access)

Effects of high beam rates on TPC's

The TPC's (Time Projection Chamber) used in E-810 at the AGS (Alternating Gradient Synchroton) were exposed to silicon ion fluxes equivalent to more than 10{sup 7} minimum ionizing particles per second to measure the distortion of the electric field caused by positive ions in the drift region. Results of these tests are presented and the consequences for the TPC based experiment at RHIC (Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider) are discussed.
Date: February 6, 1992
Creator: Etkin, A.; Eiseman, S. E.; Foley, K. J.; Hackenburg, R. W.; Longacre, R. S.; Love, W. A. et al.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (open access)

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

This report provides an overview of the United Nations (U.N.) Convention on the Rights of the Child's (CRC's) background and structure and examines evolving U.S. policy toward the CRC, including past and current Administration positions and congressional perspectives. It also highlights issues for the 112th Congress, including the CRC's possible impact on federal and state laws, U.S. sovereignty, parental rights, and U.S. family planning and abortion policy. In addition, the report addresses the effectiveness of CRC in protecting the rights of children internationally and its potential use as an instrument of U.S. foreign policy.
Date: February 6, 2014
Creator: Blanchfield, Luisa
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Community Development Block Grants: Recent Funding History (open access)

Community Development Block Grants: Recent Funding History

This report is a review of the Community Development Fund (CDF) account's funding history from FY2000 to FY2013, as well as current funding in FY2014. It includes a discussion of the three primary components of the CDF account: (1) CDBG formula grants; (2) CDBG-related set-asides and earmarks; and (3) CDBGlinked supplemental and special appropriations. It is intended to provide recent historical background as the 113th Congress considers CDF funding levels and composition.
Date: February 6, 2014
Creator: Boyd, Eugene
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Unemployment Compensation (Insurance) and Military Service (open access)

Unemployment Compensation (Insurance) and Military Service

This report discusses unemployment compensation for Ex-Service members (UCX), which provides income support while former active duty military personnel or reservists released from active duty search for work. The report addresses funding for this service, who is entitled to UCX benefits, and Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08) and the Extended Benefits (EB) payments, which a servicemember receives when regular unemployment benefits are exhausted.
Date: February 6, 2014
Creator: Whittaker, Julie M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Need for Comprehensive Postal Reform (open access)

Need for Comprehensive Postal Reform

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This letter responds to a request by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, for GAO's views on the need for postal reform and is based upon prior testimonies related to this issue. Since the Postal Service's transformation efforts and financial outlook had been placed on GAO's High-Risk List in April 2001, the Comptroller General has testified on several occasions about the governance, financial, operational, and human capital challenges that threaten the Service's ability to carry out its mission. If not effectively addressed in a timely manner, these challenges serve to threaten the Service's ability to remain self-supporting while providing affordable, high-quality, and universal postal services to all Americans."
Date: February 6, 2004
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
VA Health Care: Preliminary Findings on the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Budget Formulation for Fiscal Years 2005 and 2006 (open access)

VA Health Care: Preliminary Findings on the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Budget Formulation for Fiscal Years 2005 and 2006

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report documents the information we provided to Congress in a briefing on February 2, 2006, in response to a request concerning the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) internal budget formulation process. This includes information that VA develops for its budget submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), but it does not include information on subsequent interactions that occur between VA and OMB. We will do additional work to incorporate information from OMB and complete our analysis in a report to be issued at a later date. Congress requested information on VA's budget formulation process because of its interest in ensuring that VA's budget forecasts are accurate and based on valid patient estimates. In response to the request for information on VA's internal budget formulation process, this report provides the following for fiscal years 2005 and 2006: (1) a description of VA's process for developing its budget submission to OMB for its medical programs, and the role of VA's actuarial model; (2) a description of the medical program activities cited by VA as needing additional funding, and how VA identified these activities; and (3) key factors …
Date: February 6, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Border Security: DHS Needs to Strengthen Its Efforts to Modernize Key Enforcement Systems (open access)

Border Security: DHS Needs to Strengthen Its Efforts to Modernize Key Enforcement Systems

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The schedule and cost for the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) border enforcement system modernization program known as TECS Mod that is managed by Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) continue to change; while the part managed in parallel by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is undergoing major revisions to its scope, schedule, and cost after discovering that its initial solution is not technically viable. CBP's $724 million program intends to modernize the functionality, data, and aging infrastructure of legacy TECS and move it to DHS's data centers by 2016. To date, CBP has deployed functionality to improve its secondary inspection processes to air and sea ports of entry and, more recently, to land ports of entry in 2013. However, CBP is in the process of revising its schedule baseline for the second time in under a year. Further, CBP has not developed its master schedule sufficiently to reliably manage work activities or monitor program progress. These factors raise questions about the certainty of CBP's remaining schedule commitments. Regarding ICE's $818 million TECS Mod program, it is redesigning and replanning its program, having determined in June 2013 that its …
Date: February 6, 2014
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Surface Transportation: Preliminary Observations on Efforts to Restructure Current Program (open access)

Surface Transportation: Preliminary Observations on Efforts to Restructure Current Program

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The nation has reached a critical juncture with its current surface transportation policies and programs. Demand has outpaced the capacity of the system, resulting in increased congestion. In addition, without significant changes in funding mechanisms, revenue sources, or planned spending, the Highway Trust Fund--the major source of federal highway and transit funding--is projected to incur significant deficits in the years ahead. Furthermore, the nation is on a fiscally unsustainable path. Recognizing many of these challenges and the importance of the transportation system to the nation, Congress established The National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission (Commission) to examine current and future needs of the system and recommend needed changes to the surface transportation program, among other things. The Commission issued its report in January 2008. This testimony discusses 1) principles to assess proposals for restructuring the surface transportation program and 2) GAO's preliminary observations on the Commission's recommendations. This statement is based on GAO's ongoing work for the Ranking Member of this Committee, the Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Senator DeMint, as well as a body of work GAO has completed over the past …
Date: February 6, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Entrepreneurial Assistance: Opportunities Exist to Improve Collaboration and Performance Management for Financial Assistance Programs (open access)

Entrepreneurial Assistance: Opportunities Exist to Improve Collaboration and Performance Management for Financial Assistance Programs

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Federal programs GAO reviewed that offer financial support to entrepreneurs, such as grants and loans, are fragmented and overlap based on the type of support they are authorized to offer and the type of entrepreneur they are authorized to serve. The Departments of Commerce (Commerce), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Agriculture (USDA); the Small Business Administration (SBA); and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) have taken steps to collaborate more in administering these programs in response to a recommendation in GAO's August 2012 report. For example, OMB has established a Cross-Agency Priority goal for entrepreneurship and small business and an associated interagency working group. However, the four agencies have not implemented a number of good collaborative practices GAO has identified, such as establishing compatible policies and procedures to better support rural businesses. The Government Performance and Results Act Modernization Act of 2010 (GPRAMA) crosscutting framework requires that agencies collaborate in order to address issues such as economic development that transcend more than one agency, and GPRAMA directs agencies to describe how they are working with each other to achieve their program goals. Some entrepreneurs struggle to …
Date: February 6, 2014
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Immigration Benefits: Internal Controls for Adjudicating Humanitarian Parole Cases Are Generally Effective, but Some Can Be Strengthened (open access)

Immigration Benefits: Internal Controls for Adjudicating Humanitarian Parole Cases Are Generally Effective, but Some Can Be Strengthened

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Immigration and Nationality Act requires that most visitors and immigrants to the United States obtain a visa. Aliens unable to obtain a visa, and with a compelling humanitarian need, may apply to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to be granted humanitarian parole. This permits an alien to enter the United States on a temporary basis. Parole responsibility rests with DHS's Humanitarian Assistance Branch (HAB), which was transferred to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in August 2007. In response to congressional requesters, GAO examined (1) the characteristics of those who applied for humanitarian parole since October 1, 2001, and (2) internal controls HAB designed to adjudicate applications along with the extent to which HAB adhered to them. To conduct this work, GAO analyzed HAB documents and data, such as its protocols and database of all parole applications since October 1, 2001; interviewed HAB officials about adjudication processes; and interviewed attorneys who had helped individuals file for parole."
Date: February 6, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Economic Development Administration: Documentation of Award Selection Decisions Could Be Improved (open access)

Economic Development Administration: Documentation of Award Selection Decisions Could Be Improved

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Economic Development Administration (EDA) implemented a new procedure in fiscal year 2012 that requires its regional offices to complete a standard template to document the results of committee meetings in which proposed projects are discussed and potentially recommended for funding. However, GAO found that for the Public Works and Economic Development (Public Works) program and the Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) program—EDA's two largest grant assistance programs—EDA regional offices had not completed the template consistently. GAO estimated that only 46 percent of all projects recommended for funding in fiscal year 2012 under these programs were documented using the complete template. EDA has a history of inconsistent documentation: for example, in 2000 the Department of Commerce's Inspector General reported inconsistencies in how EDA's regional offices documented the project review process. Standards for internal control in the federal government require all transactions and significant events to be clearly documented and available for examination. Until EDA takes steps to ensure that all of its regional offices consistently and fully complete the standard template for all proposed projects considered for funding, EDA will not have adequate assurance that its funding …
Date: February 6, 2014
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Department of Defense's Civilian Human Capital Strategic Plan Does Not Meet Most Statutory Requirements (open access)

The Department of Defense's Civilian Human Capital Strategic Plan Does Not Meet Most Statutory Requirements

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The achievement of the Department of Defense's (DOD) mission is dependent in large part on the skills and expertise of its civilian workforce--which consists of almost 700,000 personnel, who develop policy, provide intelligence, manage finances, and acquire and maintain weapon systems. With more than 50 percent of its civilian personnel becoming eligible to retire in the next few years, DOD may find it difficult to fill certain mission-critical jobs with qualified personnel. Strategic workforce planning, an integral part of human capital management, helps ensure that an organization has staff with the necessary skills and competencies to accomplish its strategic goals. We have previously reported that it is critical that DOD engage in effective strategic workforce planning to ensure that its human capital reforms have maximum effectiveness and value. In 2007, we reported that strategic human capital management remained a high-risk area because the federal government now faces one of the most significant transformations to the civil service in half a century, as momentum grows toward making governmentwide changes to agency pay, classification, and performance management systems. In January 2006, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 20065 …
Date: February 6, 2008
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
GSA Global Supply's Direct Vendor Delivery Proposal Addresses Declining Office Product Sales, but Annual Reviews May Be Needed to Monitor Impact on Small Business Participation (open access)

GSA Global Supply's Direct Vendor Delivery Proposal Addresses Declining Office Product Sales, but Annual Reviews May Be Needed to Monitor Impact on Small Business Participation

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2007, the General Services Administration (GSA) purchased $853 million in supplies from businesses--large and small--for its Global Supply system for subsequent resale to federal agencies. Of this amount, $194 million was for office products sold through the Global Supply Stock Program (Stock Program). The Stock Program allows federal customers to purchase thousands of products, ranging from office supplies to firefighting equipment, from two GSA distribution centers. In an effort to reduce delivery times and cut costs, GSA has worked for several years to develop a new business model for the Stock Program. In November 2008, GSA issued a solicitation for proposals that would remove one-third, or about 550, of its office supply products from the Stock Program and require businesses to ship these office products directly to GSA customers. Under the proposed Direct Vendor Delivery (DVD) Program, blanket purchase agreements (BPA) would be put in place between GSA and vendors, with the aim of allowing customers to receive additional price discounts, save time, and reduce paperwork. Small businesses and others have raised concerns about the impact of the proposed shift to DVD on small businesses' …
Date: February 6, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Aviation Security: Status of Transportation Security Inspector Workforce (open access)

Aviation Security: Status of Transportation Security Inspector Workforce

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report was written in response to House Report 110-181, accompanying H.R. 2638, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Bill, 2008. In accordance with direction in that report, we are reporting on the operation of the transportation security inspector (TSI) program since it has been located at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) within the Department of Homeland Security, including the size of the TSI workforce, the roles and responsibilities of TSIs, and the extent to which TSA has a reasonable basis for determining the size of the workforce needed to achieve inspection goals."
Date: February 6, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Foster Care: State Practices for Assessing Health Needs, Facilitating Service Delivery, and Monitoring Children's Care (open access)

Foster Care: State Practices for Assessing Health Needs, Facilitating Service Delivery, and Monitoring Children's Care

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Providing health care services for foster children, who often have significant health care needs, can be challenging. The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) oversees foster care, but state child welfare agencies are responsible for ensuring that these children receive health care services, which are often financed by Medicaid. In light of concerns about the health care needs of foster children, GAO was asked to study states' efforts to improve foster children's receipt of health services. This report has four objectives. It describes specific actions that some states have taken to (1) identify health care needs, (2) ensure delivery of appropriate health services, and (3) document and monitor the health care of children in foster care. It also describes the related technical assistance ACF offers to states. To address these objectives, GAO selected 10 states and interviewed state officials and reviewed related documentation regarding the nature and results of the states' practices. To describe ACF's technical assistance, GAO interviewed officials and reviewed documents from ACF, states, and relevant technical assistance centers."
Date: February 6, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Highway Trust Fund: Improved Solvency Mechanisms and Communication Needed to Help Avoid Shortfalls in the Highway Account (open access)

Highway Trust Fund: Improved Solvency Mechanisms and Communication Needed to Help Avoid Shortfalls in the Highway Account

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Highway Account within the Highway Trust Fund is the primary mechanism for funding federal highway programs. The account-- administered by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) within the Department of Transportation (DOT)--channels about $33 billion in highway user excise taxes annually to states for highway projects. Although DOT and others projected that the account could run out of funds in fiscal year 2009, the balance fell more rapidly than expected and a shortfall became imminent in August 2008. In September, Congress passed legislation to provide $8 billion to replenish the account, but DOT officials anticipate the account could reach a critical stage again in fiscal year 2009. This report (1) describes the events that led to the decline in the account balance, including how DOT responded, and (2) identifies potential improvements in mechanisms to manage account solvency. This report also includes information on strategies GAO has reported on in the past that could be used to better align account outlays and revenues. To conduct this work, GAO analyzed information in legal and budget documents, reviewed account estimates, and interviewed agency officials and stakeholders."
Date: February 6, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Surface Transportation: Clear Federal Role and Criteria-Based Selection Process Could Improve Three National and Regional Infrastructure Programs (open access)

Surface Transportation: Clear Federal Role and Criteria-Based Selection Process Could Improve Three National and Regional Infrastructure Programs

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To help meet increasing transportation demands, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) created three programs to invest federal funds in national and regional transportation infrastructure. As requested, this report provides (1) an overview of the goals, funding status, and types of projects and activities funded by the three programs; (2) advantages and challenges identified by program stakeholders; and (3) potential program enhancements. GAO reviewed pertinent federal laws and rules; examined plans for selected projects; conducted site visits; and interviewed officials, stakeholders, and experts."
Date: February 6, 2009
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federal Real Property: Excess and Underutilized Property Is an Ongoing Problem (open access)

Federal Real Property: Excess and Underutilized Property Is an Ongoing Problem

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "At the start of each new Congress since 1999, we have issued a special series of reports entitled the Performance and Accountability Series: Major Management Challenges andProgram Rsks. In January 2003, GAO designated federal real property a high-risk area and issued an update in January 2005 on this area. GAO identified excess and underutilized property as one of the major reasons for the high-risk designation. This testimony discusses GAO's designation of federal real property as a high-risk area, focusing on excess and underutilized property and describes various efforts to address the problem and what more needs to be done."
Date: February 6, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Long-Term Budget Issues: Moving From Balancing the Budget to Balancing Fiscal Risk (open access)

Long-Term Budget Issues: Moving From Balancing the Budget to Balancing Fiscal Risk

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In this statement, the Comptroller General discusses the fiscal policy challenges facing Congress and the nation. The focus of tax administration and budgeting are shifting because of current and projected budget surpluses. The Comptroller General speaks of the need for fiscal responsibility when using surplus projections to design tax and spending policies. These projections are based on a set of assumptions that may or may not hold. They are not a precise prediction of a future and should be used as a reference point when making policy decisions. Although the projected surpluses can provide an opportunity to respond to pent-up demands for additional spending or tax cuts, Congress must balance those demands with the nation's long-term economic health."
Date: February 6, 2001
Creator: United States. General Accounting Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Environmental Information: EPA Actions Could Reduce the Availability of Environmental Information to the Public (open access)

Environmental Information: EPA Actions Could Reduce the Availability of Environmental Information to the Public

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "U.S. industry uses billions of pounds of chemicals to produce the nation's goods and services. Releases of these chemicals during use or disposal can harm human health and the environment. The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 requires facilities that manufacture, process, or otherwise use more than specified amounts of nearly 650 toxic chemicals to report their releases to water, air, and land. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) makes this data available to the public in the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). Since 1995, facilities may submit a brief certification statement (Form A), in lieu of the detailed Form R report, if their releases of specific chemicals do not exceed 500 pounds a year. In January 2007, EPA finalized a proposal to increase that threshold to 2,000 pounds, quadrupling what facilities can release before they must disclose their releases and other waste management practices. Today's testimony addresses (1) EPA's development of the proposal to change the TRI Form A threshold from 500 to 2,000 pounds and (2) the impact these changes may have on data available to the public. It also provides an update to our 2005 …
Date: February 6, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Homeland Security: Management and Programmatic Challenges Facing the Department of Homeland Security (open access)

Homeland Security: Management and Programmatic Challenges Facing the Department of Homeland Security

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plays a key role in leading and coordinating--with stakeholders in the federal, state, local, and private sectors--the nation's homeland security efforts. GAO has conducted numerous reviews of DHS management functions as well as programs including transportation and border security, immigration enforcement and service delivery, and disaster preparation and response. This testimony addresses why GAO designated DHS's implementation and transformation as a high-risk area, management challenges facing DHS, programmatic challenges facing DHS, and actions DHS should take to strengthen its implementation and transformation efforts."
Date: February 6, 2007
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library