A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense's (DOD) 2012 Biennial Core Report complies with two of the three biennial reporting elements of Section 2464 by including information on core capability requirements and planned workloads available for maintaining these requirements. The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) reported core capability requirements totaling about 70 million direct labor hours for the military services. Also, OSD reported a total of about 92 million direct labor hours for planned workloads with an estimated cost of about $12 billion. OSD reported complete information on core requirements and planned workload at the top-level categories, such as Sea Ships, of the work breakdown structure. The statute directs that this information be organized by work breakdown structure, which is a group of categories of equipment and technologies. The top-level category--an entire type of system or equipment--can be broken down into lower levels of detail or subcategories, such as Aircraft Carriers or Submarines, that make up the system or equipment. DOD's overall planned workloads exceed its core capability requirements, but the report shows shortfalls in certain categories for the Army and the Air Force."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The key issues, based on existing GAO work, suggest specific areas for oversight on the following topics:"

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO has previously reported that the SM-3 Block IIB program did not conduct a formal analysis of alternatives (AoA) prior to beginning technology development. AoAs provide insight into the technical feasibility and costs of alternatives by determining if a concept can be developed and produced within existing resources. Although the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is not required to do an AoA for its programs because of its acquisition flexibilities, GAO has previously reported that an AoA can be a key step to ensure that new programs have a sound acquisition basis."

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This report examines options concerning the future of the GSEs and the future government role in residential mortgage markets.

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Final Report describes research analysis done relating to the DOE ASR ISDAC (Indirect and SemiDirect Aerosol Campaign) in Alaska April 2008.

The aim of this research was an in-depth analysis of the impacts of biofuels industry and ethanol plants on six rural communities in the Midwestern states of Kansas and Iowa. The goal was to provide a better understanding of the social, cultural, and economic implications of biofuels development, and to contribute to more informed policy development regarding bioenergy.Specific project objectives were: 1. To understand how the growth of biofuel production has affected and will affect Midwestern farmers and rural communities in terms of economic, demographic, and socio-cultural impacts; 2. To determine how state agencies, groundwater management districts, local governments and policy makers evaluate or manage bioenergy development in relation to competing demands for economic growth, diminishing water resources, and social considerations; 3. To determine the factors that influence the water management practices of agricultural producers in Kansas and Iowa (e.g. geographic setting, water management institutions, competing water-use demands as well as producers’ attitudes, beliefs, and values) and how these influences relate to bioenergy feedstock production and biofuel processing; 4. To determine the relative importance of social-cultural, environmental and/or economic factors in the promotion of biofuels development and expansion in rural communities; The research objectives were met through the completion of …

This report is a compilation of the groundwater sampling results from the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site (RWMS). The data have been collected since 1993 and include calendar year 2012 results. During 2012, groundwater samples were collected and static water levels were measured at the three pilot wells surrounding the Area 5 RWMS. Groundwater samples were collected at UE5PW-1, UE5PW-2, and UE5PW-3 on March 21, August 7, August 21, and September 11, 2012, and static water levels were measured at each of the three pilot wells on March 19, June 6, August 2, and October 15, 2012. Groundwater samples were analyzed for the following indicators of contamination: pH, specific conductance, total organic carbon, total organic halides, and tritium. Indicators of general water chemistry (cations and anions) were also measured. Final results from samples collected in 2012 were within the limits established by agreement with the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection for each analyte. These data indicate that there has been no measurable impact to the uppermost aquifer from the Area 5 RWMS. There were no significant changes in measured groundwater parameters compared to previous years. The report contains an updated cumulative chronology for the Area 5 RWMS Groundwater Monitoring …

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This report provides background information and presents potential issues for Congress concerning the Navy's ship force-structure goals and shipbuilding plans. The planned size of the Navy, the rate of Navy ship procurement, and the prospective affordability of the Navy's shipbuilding plans have been matters of concern for the congressional defense committees for the past several years. Decisions that Congress makes on Navy shipbuilding programs can substantially affect Navy capabilities and funding requirements, and the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base.

This report provides background information and identifies issues for Congress regarding Department of Defense (DOD) alternative fuel initiatives, a subject of debate at congressional hearings on DOD's proposed FY2013 budget. The services (the Army, Navy, and Air Force) have spent approximately $48 million to purchase alternative fuels, and the Navy has proposed a $170 million investment in biofuel production capacity. The services have also spent funds on testing, certification and demonstrations of alternative fuels. By comparison, DOD purchases of petroleum fuels totaled approximately $17.3 billion in FY2011.

This report is designed to inform the debate over the health of U.S. manufacturing through a series of charts and tables that depict the position of the United States relative to other countries according to various metrics. Understanding which trends in manufacturing reflect factors that may be unique to the United States and which are related to broader changes in technology or consumer preferences may be helpful in formulating policies intended to aid firms or workers engaged in manufacturing activity. This report does not describe or discuss specific policy options.

This report provides background information and identifies issues for Congress on Department of Defense (DOD) energy initiatives. DOD spends billions of dollars per year on fuel, and is pursuing numerous initiatives for reducing its fuel needs and changing the mix of energy sources that it uses. DOD's energy initiatives pose several potential policy and oversight issues for Congress, and have been topics of discussion and debate at hearings on DOD's proposed FY2013 budget. Congress's decisions on DOD energy initiatives could substantially affect DOD capabilities, funding requirements, and U.S. energy industries.

This report examines the role that home state Senators, historically and in the contemporary era, have played in the selection of nominees to U.S. district court and circuit court of appeals judgeships. It also identifies issues that have arisen in recent years over the role of home state Senators in the selection process for federal judges.

This report provides background information and potential oversight issues for Congress on the Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) class aircraft carrier program. Congress's decisions on the CVN-78 program could substantially affect Navy capabilities and funding requirements and the shipbuilding industrial base.

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The design of the multiharmonic buncher is determined by Facility for Rare Isotope Beam (FRIB) requirements. The buncher will bunch stable ion beams for injection into the FRIB RFQ to minimize the longitudinal beam emittance growth. The design beam energy is fixed at 12 keV/u while the beam charge state Q/A can vary from 1/3 to 1/7. The buncher operates at a fundamental frequency of 40.25 MHz. Two higher harmonics, 80.5 MHz and 120.75 MHz are used to linearize the voltage ramp. The typical accelerating voltage for a uranium beam, including the time-of-flight factor, is 1271 V, 456 V, and 150 V for 40.25 MHz, 80.5 MHz, and 120.75 MHz harmonics respectively. The voltage will be scaled with the charge state of an accelerated beam. The accelerated electrical beam current is expected to be approximately equal to 0.5 mA for all ion beams between oxygen and uranium.

This report discusses about how congress might consider environmental regulations that impact livestock and poultry, and conservation programs that have benefited animal agriculture.

Proceedings of the Senate of Texas for the twelfth day of the Regular session of the 83rd Legislature documenting legislation, reports, discussions, votes, and points-of-order.

Daily newspaper from Denton, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.