The acoustic emission from both powder and ingot source beryllium has been measured as a function of strain and prior heat treatment. Most measurements were made during tensile deformation, but a limited number of compression tests have also been performed. The acoustic emission observed was of the burst type, with little or no contribution from continuous type emission. The emission was characterized by the variation of burst rate and average energy per burst as a function of strain. The tensile behavior was qualitatively similar for all the materials tested. Burst rate maxima centered roughly at 0.1 percent and 1.0 percent plastic strain were observed. The magnitude but not the strain at the low strain burst rate peak was very sensitive to prior thermal treatment, while the higher strain burst rate peak was insensitive to prior heat treatment. An energy per burst maximum was observed at 0.2 percent plastic strain, the magnitude of which was moderately sensitive to heat treatment. The Kaiser effect is observed in the material studied. Emission during compression was similar to that observed in tension. The acoustic emission observed is attributed to dislocation motion, as proposed by James and Carpenter for LiF, NaCl, and Zn. Metallographic studies …

This report discusses the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, which created the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This report addresses OIRA's responsibilities, controversies related to OIRA, and possible legislative issues involving OIRA, including increasing or decreasing the office's funding and staffing, and improvements in the transparency of OIRA's review process.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Energy's (DOE) Hanford Site in Washington State houses DOE's largest and most complex nuclear cleanup project--treating and preparing for disposal 55 million gallons of high-level radioactive waste. In 2000, DOE awarded an 11-year, $4.3 billion contract to design, construct, and test treatment facilities at Hanford. GAO was asked to review (1) efforts to accelerate the project's completion, (2) implementation on this project of agencywide management reforms, and (3) the challenges resulting from any unimplemented reforms."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO examined the type and extent of consumer education that occurred since the revised children's sleepwear safety standard went into effect in January 1997, focusing on three voluntary point-of-sale practices that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and others recognize as important for informing consumers about the new standard."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Ineffective management and oversight of the Department of Defense's (DOD) premium class travel and unused airline tickets led to concerns about DOD's overall management of the centrally billed accounts. GAO was asked to determine whether (1) DOD improperly reimbursed travelers for airline tickets DOD paid for using centrally billed accounts, (2) internal controls were effective in preventing issuance of unauthorized airline tickets, and (3) other control weaknesses led to compromised and fraudulently used centrally billed accounts."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The cost of a ship's crew is the single largest incurred over the ship's life cycle. One way to lower personnel costs, and thus the cost of ownership, is to use people only when it is cost-effective--a determination made with a systems engineering approach called human systems integration. GAO was asked to evaluate the Navy's progress in optimizing the crew size in four ships being developed and acquired: the DD(X) destroyer, T-AKE cargo ship, JCC(X) command ship, and LHA(R) amphibious assault ship. GAO assessed (1) the Navy's use of human systems integration principles and goals for reducing crew size, and (2) the factors that may impede the Navy's use of those principles."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 phased out the government's control over fares and service and allowed market forces to determine the price and level of domestic airline service in the United States. The intent was to increase competition and thereby lead to lower fares and improved service. In 2005, GAO reported on the tenuous finances of some airlines that have led to bankruptcy and pension terminations, in particular among those airlines that predated deregulation (referred to as legacy airlines). The House Report accompanying the 2006 Department of Transportation (DOT) Appropriation Act expressed concern about airline pension defaults and charged GAO with analyzing the impact of reregulating the airline industry on reducing potential pension defaults by airlines. GAO subsequently agreed to address the pension issue within a broad assessment of the airline industry since deregulation. Specifically, GAO is reporting on, among other things, (1) broad airline industry changes since deregulation, (2) fare and service changes since deregulation, and (3) whether there is evidence that reregulation of entry and fares would benefit consumers or the airline industry, or save airline pensions. DOT agreed with the conclusions in …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has established a multibillion-dollar program--U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT)--to control and monitor the pre-entry, entry, visa status, and exit of foreign visitors. To deliver system and other program capabilities, the program relies extensively on contractors, some of whom are managed directly by US-VISIT and some by other agencies (including both DHS agencies, such as Customs and Border Protection, and non-DHS agencies, such as the General Services Administration). Because of US-VISIT's heavy reliance on contractors to deliver program capabilities, GAO was asked to determine whether DHS has established and implemented effective controls for managing and overseeing US-VISIT-related contracts."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) approval of the Social Security Act's title IV-E reimbursements for foster care placements, focusing on: (1) the number of title IV-E foster care placements made by juvenile justice agencies in fiscal year (FY) 1998 and the amount of federal care funding expended for these placements; (2) how selected states ensure that title IV-E funds are not used for placements in detention facilities and ensure that procedural requirements to protect the welfare of children in title IV-E funded juvenile cases are met; and (3) HHS' processes for ensuring the appropriate use of funds and compliance with these procedural requirements in title IV-E funded juvenile justice placements."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has been on GAO's high-risk list since March 2006 because of concerns about its long-term financial solvency and related operational issues. Significant management challenges also affect the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) ability to administer NFIP. This report examines (1) the extent to which FEMA's management practices affect the administration of NFIP; (2) lessons learned from the cancellation of FEMA's attempt to modernize NFIP's insurance management system; and (3) limitations on FEMA's authority that could affect NFIP's financial stability. To do this work, GAO reviewed internal control standards and best practices, analyzed agency documentation, reviewed previous work, and interviewed relevant agency officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 2000, the Navy has undertaken a number of initiatives to achieve greater efficiencies and reduce costs. For example, it has reduced crew sizes on some of its surface ships and has moved from instructor-led to more computer-based training. In House Report 111-166, which accompanied the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, the House Armed Services Committee directed GAO to review the training, size, composition, and capabilities of the Navy's ship crews. This report assesses the extent to which the Navy (1) used valid assumptions and standards in determining crew sizes for cruisers and destroyers, and (2) has measured the impact of changes to its training programs, including on the time it takes personnel to achieve various qualifications. To do so, GAO analyzed Navy procedures for determining crew size compared to guidance, analyzed current Navy metrics to measure training impact, and interviewed relevant officials and conducted visits to 11 ships."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. transportation sector relies almost exclusively on oil; as a result, it causes about a third of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions. Advanced technology vehicles powered by alternative fuels, such as electricity and ethanol, are one way to reduce oil consumption. The federal government set a goal for federal agencies to use plug-in hybrid electric vehicles--vehicles that run on both gasoline and batteries charged by connecting a plug into an electric power source--as they become available at a reasonable cost. This goal is on top of other requirements agencies must meet for conserving energy. In response to a request, GAO examined the (1) potential benefits of plug-ins, (2) factors affecting the availability of plug-ins, and (3) challenges to incorporating plug-ins into the federal fleet. GAO reviewed literature on plug-ins, federal legislation, and agency policies and interviewed federal officials, experts, and industry stakeholders, including auto and battery manufacturers."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO determined the potential cost of equipping and maintaining the capability of cities to respond to a terrorist incident involving a chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear device (CBRN), focusing on the: (1) views of federal, state, and local officials on equipment they believed would provide various levels of capability to respond to a CBRN incident; and (2) potential procurement and sustainment costs of these items."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO estimated the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) sugar program's: (1) costs to domestic sweetener users; (2) benefits to domestic sugar and high-fructose corn syrup producers; and (3) net effects on the U.S. economy--the differences between the costs to users and the benefits to producers that result from artificially high sweetener prices."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The fees and other costs that investors pay as part of owning mutual fund shares can significantly affect their investment returns. As a result, questions have been raised as to whether the disclosures of mutual fund fees and other practices are sufficiently transparent. GAO reviewed (1) how mutual funds disclose their fees and related trading costs and options for improving these disclosures, (2) changes in how mutual funds pay for the sale of fund shares and how the changes in these practices are affecting investors, and (3) the benefits of and the concerns over mutual funds' use of soft dollars."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to legislative direction, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), now part of the Department of Homeland Security, plans to acquire and deploy an entry exit system to assist in monitoring the flow of foreign nationals in and out of the United States. By separate legislative direction, INS must submit to the Senate and House Committees on Appropriations a plan for this system that meets certain conditions, including being reviewed by GAO, before funds can be obligated. This report satisfies GAO's mandated review obligation by (1) addressing whether the plan submitted by INS, along with related INS documentation and plans, meets required conditions and (2) providing observations about the plan and INS's management of the system."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO assessed the impact that delays in relocating utilities are having on the delivery and cost of federal-aid highway and bridge projects, focusing on the: (1) extent to which states are experiencing such delays and the causes and impacts of the delays; (2) number of states that are compensating construction contractors for the added costs incurred on their projects because of untimely relocations by utility companies; (3) available technologies, such as subsurface utility engineering; and (4) mitigation methods that states are using, such as incentives, penalties, and litigation, to encourage or compel cooperation by utility companies that are relocating utilities on federal-aid highway and bridge projects."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the security of the Department of Energy's (DOE) unclassified information systems that support its civilian research programs, focusing on: (1) whether DOE's unclassified systems for civilian research are vulnerable to unauthorized access; (2) whether DOE is effectively managing information systems security; and (3) what DOE is doing to address the risk of unauthorized access to unclassified systems for civilian research."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Department of Defense (DOD) spending on service contracts approaches $100 billion annually, but DOD's management of services procurement is inefficient and ineffective and the dollars are not always well spent. Recent legislation requires DOD to improve procurement practices to achieve savings. Many private companies changed management practices based on analyzing spending patterns and coordinating procurement in order to achieve major savings. This report evaluates five companies' best practices and their conduct and use of "spend analysis" and the extent that DOD can pursue similar practices."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLBA) has focused national attention on increasing accountability for states and school districts to improve student achievement. While increasing accountability, NCLBA also provided states and school districts with additional flexibility. The act established two flexibility demonstration programs--State- and Local-Flex--which allow up to 7 states and 80 school districts to redirect up to 100 percent of certain NCLBA program funds. GAO was asked to determine factors that affect states' and districts' decisions whether or not to apply for the demonstration programs and to determine the extent to which the U.S. Department of Education publicized, provided guidance, and established a process to review and award flexibility demonstration programs. To address these questions, GAO conducted a study, using telephone interviews with officials in 22 states and 37 school districts, and site visits to 2 of the four applicants."

The report includes an overview of visa issuance policy and explains the key provisions that guide the documentary requirements and approval/disapproval process.

This report summarizes the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) proposal regarding greenhouse gas regulations. In addition to discussing details of the proposed rule, the report addresses a number of questions regarding the reasons for the proposal; the EPA's authority under Section 111 of the CAA; the EPA's previous experience using that authority; the steps the agency must take to finalize the proposed rule; and various other background questions.

This report will examine the history of six-day mail delivery and analyze potential effects of reducing USPS delivery from six to five days. It will then examine legislative options for the 111th Congress.

This report discusses issues related to peace in the Middle East, including post-Gulf War negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon; U.S. interest in these and continuing negotiations and peacetalks between Middle Eastern countries; and the role of the U.S., the U.N., the European Union, and Russia in Middle Eastern relations.