A critical experiment program is carried out in a configuration similar to the BONUS reactor. The results give information concerning: the effects of different boilersuperheater geometries; the reactivity changes associated with superheater voiding or flooding; power regulation between the boiler and superheater regions; epithermal transmission probabilities for B-stainless steel and Cd control rods; the power flattening characteristics; and void simulation properties. The calculational methods used in the study predict the measured reactivity and power distribution to within the limits of experimental accuracy. (T.F.H.)

This paper reports on a laboratory study of erosion-corrosion on aluminum surfaces in high temperature water. It is essentially a continuation of a similar previous study with refinement in testing procedure and the addition of electrochemical measurements to study the phenomenon. The electrochemical procedures are of intrinsic worth, because such measurements have never before been conducted with such an unusual cell geometry as imposed by the erosion-corrosion testing apparatus.

This report looks at Kuwait's relationships with its neighbors in the Persian Gulf and its own political system which has been in turmoil since 2006.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In 1978, the Congress passed the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act to ensure that cattle, sheep, hogs, and other animals destined for human consumption are handled and slaughtered humanely. Within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is responsible for enforcing the act. Recently, the Congress took additional actions to improve FSIS enforcement. GAO reviewed (1) the frequency and scope of humane handling and slaughter violations, (2) actions to enforce compliance, and (3) the adequacy of existing resources to enforce the act."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "A timing difference between cash in- and outflows poses challenges for the Department of the Treasury. Increased volatility of monthly cash flows may lead to unexpected short-term debt issuance and hence increased borrowing. While Social Security payments made at the start of the month will diminish gradually in coming years, start-of month payments to Medicare plan sponsors for Medicare Advantage and Part D benefits are projected to grow. As requested, this report (1) describes how Treasury, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and plan sponsors operate under the current payment schedule; (2) identifies timing options; and (3) describes potential implications for Treasury, CMS, and Medicare. GAO analyzed Treasury cash flows, and interviewed Treasury, CMS officials, and plan sponsor representatives."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000 authorized up to $15 billion under the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program to stimulate capital investment in low-income and economically distressed communities. The act mandated that GAO report to Congress on the NMTC program by January 31, 2004, 2007, and 2010. Based on consultation with staff at appropriate congressional committees, this report (1) describes the status of the NMTC program, (2) profiles community development entities (CDE) that were selected to receive NMTC allocations in 2003, and (3) determines whether systems are in place or planned to ensure compliance and evaluate the success of the NMTC program."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Office of the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) plays an important role in supporting the effective functioning of Congress and its neighboring institutions. In January 2003, GAO conducted a comprehensive management review of AOC's operations and made 35 recommendations to help AOC establish a strategic management and accountability framework, improve its management infrastructure and internal control, and address longstanding concerns. In February 2003, the Conference Report mandated GAO to monitor progress being made on the implementation of the 35 management review recommendations."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The cleanup of environmental contamination on unneeded property resulting from prior defense base realignment and closure (BRAC) rounds has been a key impediment to the transfer of these properties and could be an issue in the transfer and reuse of unneeded property resulting from the 2005 BRAC round. GAO's analysis of available data indicates that, when completed, the cleanup for the four prior BRAC rounds is expected to cost about $13.2 billion and additional costs will be needed for BRAC 2005 property. These costs reduce BRAC savings, especially in the short term. Because of broad congressional interest in BRAC, GAO prepared this report under the Comptroller General's authority to conduct evaluations on his own initiative. GAO's objectives were to examine costs to clean up 2005 BRAC properties, progress in transferring prior BRAC rounds properties to other users, and opportunities to expedite cleanups and transfers. To address these issues, GAO analyzed cleanup cost estimates, interviewed environmental officials and visited seven bases."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The four states GAO selected used funds provided under Title IV-B of the Social Security Act for a variety of child welfare services and other activities, and had different strategies for spending these funds. For instance, in fiscal year 2011 Virginia provided funding to all local child welfare agencies to spend on their own priorities, such as parenting classes. New Mexico targeted certain counties for services, such as intensive in-home services for families at risk of foster care."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In 2001, the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Inspector General reported on serious problems in HUD's Discount Sales Program, under which nonprofit organizations purchase HUD-owned properties at a discount, rehabilitate them, and resell them to low- and moderate-income homebuyers. The objectives of the program are to expand affordable housing opportunities, help revitalize neighborhoods, and reduce HUD's property inventory in a timely, efficient, and cost-effective manner. Although the Inspector General recommended that the agency suspend the program and evaluate its viability, HUD did neither. GAO was asked to assess (1) the costs of the program to HUD, (2) the benefits of the program to homebuyers, and (3) HUD's efforts to monitor participating nonprofits and enforce program requirements."

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "While there is no universally accepted definition, the term "predatory lending" is used to characterize a range of practices, including deception, fraud, or manipulation, that a mortgage broker or lender may use to make a loan with terms that are disadvantageous to the borrower. No comprehensive data are available on the extent of these practices, but they appear most likely to occur among subprime mortgages--those made to borrowers with impaired credit or limited incomes. GAO was asked to examine actions taken by federal agencies and states to combat predatory lending; the roles played by the secondary market and by consumer education, mortgage counseling, and loan disclosure requirements; and the impact of predatory lending on the elderly."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Each year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) determines the staffing level for its toll-free telephone customer service operations. GAO found that IRS lacks a long-term telephone customer service goal that reflects the needs of taxpayers and the costs and benefits of meeting that goal. Rather, IRS annually determines the level of funding it will seek for its customer service workforce, using its judgment of how to best balance service and compliance activities. IRS then calculates the level of service that funding levels will provide. This approach is inconsistent with the Government Performance and Results Act and the practice of selected public and private call centers that field questions. IRS recognizes the shortcomings of its personnel management and will include performance measures and goals in its 2002 strategic plan. According to IRS officials, the agency also faces challenges in recruiting, training, retaining, and scheduling customer service representatives. IRS is developing a strategy to address each of these issues."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To enhance public safety, all states have laws requiring convicted sex offenders to register with law enforcement authorities. Because ensuring compliance is a challenge, in part because offenders may move frequently, policy makers are considering a role for motor vehicle agencies. In response to section 636 of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (the Walsh Act) and as discussed with congressional committees, this report identifies (1) the various driver's license-related processes that states are using to encourage registration or provide additional monitoring of convicted sex offenders; (2) the level of modifications to states' information technology (IT) capabilities that would be needed, and the key cost factors involved, if a federal law were to require the screening of individuals against the respective state's sex offender registry and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) National Sex Offender Registry before issuing a driver's license; and (3) other factors that could affect successful implementation of this type of screening program. To accomplish these objectives, GAO reviewed state statutes and surveyed motor vehicle and public safety agencies in 26 states. The 26 states reflect regional representation, among …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) is meant to provide a consistent approach to evaluating federal programs during budget formulation. To better understand its potential, congressional requesters asked GAO to examine (1) how PART changed OMB's fiscal year 2004 budget decisionmaking process, (2) PART's relationship to the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), and (3) PART's strengths and weaknesses as an evaluation tool."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This is the second GAO report on the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). It follows up on the nine recommendations from the December 2, 2008, report (GAO-09-161). It also reviews (1) the nature and purpose of activities that had been initiated under TARP as of January 23, 2009; (2) Treasury's Office of Financial Stability (OFS) hiring and transition efforts, use of contractors, and progress in developing a system of internal control; and (3) preliminary indicators of TARP's performance. To do this work, GAO reviewed signed agreements and other relevant documentation and met with officials from OFS, contractors, federal agencies, and some participating institutions."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "More than 80 percent of the seafood that Americans consume is imported. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for ensuring that imported seafood is safe and produced under sanitation and safety systems comparable to those of the United States. Since GAO reported in 2001 that FDA's seafood inspection program did not sufficiently protect consumers, additional concerns have arisen about imported seafood containing banned substances, such as certain antibiotics. In this review, GAO was asked to evaluate (1) FDA's progress in implementing the recommendations in the 2001 report and (2) other options to enhance FDA's oversight."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) performs critical missions that enhance the quality of life for the American people, relying on automated systems and networks to deliver billions of dollars in programs to its customers; process and communicate sensitive payroll, financial, and market data; and maintain personal customer information. Interruptions in USDA's ability to fulfill its missions could have a significant adverse impact on the nation's food and agricultural production. In addition, securing sensitive information is critical to USDA's efforts to maintain public confidence in the department. GAO was asked to evaluate the effectiveness of USDA's information security controls."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Effective training and development programs are an integral part of a learning environment, helping improve federal workforce performance in achieving agency results. Therefore, in this report GAO was asked to identify examples of selected federal agencies' experiences and some of the key lessons they have learned in designing their training and development programs. This work focused on ways that these agencies (1) assessed agency skills gaps and identified training needs, (2) developed strategies and solutions for these training and development needs, and (3) determined methods to evaluate the effectiveness of training and development programs. GAO worked with five agencies to identify their experiences and lessons learned: the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Department of Defense; Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Department of the Interior (Interior); Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Department of the Treasury; the Office of Personnel Management (OPM); and Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Agency officials provided information during interviews and furnished supporting documentation for analysis and review."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau within the Department of the Treasury, relies extensively on its own computer systems, as well as those at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Treasury Communications System (TCS), to administer the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and fulfill its mission of safeguarding the U.S. financial system from financial crimes. Effective information security controls over these systems are essential to ensuring that BSA data, which contains sensitive financial information used by law enforcement agencies to prosecute financial crime, is protected from inappropriate or deliberate misuse, improper disclosure, or destruction. GAO evaluated whether security controls that effectively protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the information and systems that support FinCEN's mission have been implemented. To do this, GAO examined security policies and controls for systems at three organizations."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round is the biggest, most complex, and costliest BRAC round ever. In addition to base closures, many recommendations involve realignments, such as returning forces to the United States from bases overseas and creating joint bases. However, anticipated savings remained an important consideration in justifying the need for the 2005 BRAC round. The House report on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 directed GAO to monitor BRAC implementation. Therefore, GAO assessed (1) challenges that might affect timely completion of recommendations, (2) any changes in DOD's reported cost and savings estimates since fiscal year 2008, and (3) the potential for estimates to continue to change. To address these objectives, GAO reviewed documentation and interviewed officials in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), the services' BRAC offices, and the Army Corps of Engineers; visited installations implementing some of the more costly realignments or closures; and analyzed BRAC budget data for fiscal years 2008 and 2009."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The nation's highway transportation system is vast and open--vehicles and their operators can move freely and with almost no restrictions. Securing the U.S. highway infrastructure system is a responsibility shared by federal, state and local government, and the private sector. Within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has primary responsibility for ensuring the security of the sector. GAO was asked to assess the progress DHS has made in securing the nation's highway infrastructure. This report addresses the extent to which federal entities have conducted and coordinated risk assessments; DHS has developed a risk-based strategy; and stakeholders, such as state and local transportation entities, have taken voluntary actions to secure highway infrastructure -- and the degree to which DHS has monitored such actions. To conduct this work, GAO reviewed risk assessment results and TSA's documented security strategy, and conducted interviews with highway stakeholders."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Department of Defense (DOD) officials currently estimate that the department will spend approximately $34 billion through 2011 to develop the core network of the Global Information Grid (GIG), a large and complex undertaking intended to provide on-demand and real-time data and information to the warfighter. DOD views the GIG as the cornerstone of information superiority, a key enabler of network-centric warfare, and a pillar of defense transformation. A high degree of coordination and cooperation is needed to make the GIG a reality. In prior work GAO found that enforcing investment decisions across the military services and assuring management attention and oversight of the GIG effort were key management challenges facing DOD. This report assesses (1) the management approach that DOD is using to develop the GIG and (2) whether DOD's three major decision-making processes support the development of a crosscutting, departmentwide investment, such as the GIG."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, authorizes the federal government to enter into agreements with state and local law enforcement agencies to train officers to assist in identifying those individuals who are in the country illegally. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is responsible for supervising state and local officers under this program. GAO was asked to review this program. This report reviews (1) the extent to which ICE has designed controls to govern 287(g) program implementation; and (2) how program resources are being used and the activities, benefits, and concerns reported by participating agencies. GAO reviewed memorandums of agreement (MOA) between ICE and the 29 program participants as of September 1, 2007. GAO compared controls ICE designed to govern the 287(g) program with criteria in GAO's Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government. GAO interviewed officials from both ICE and participating agencies on program implementation, resources, and results."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Homeowners insurance policies typically protect homes, garages and other structures, and personal belongings from damage caused by perils such as fire, hail, lightning, explosion, and theft, among others. The insurance industry considers these perils insurable because they are accidental, predictable, and do not involve catastrophic losses. These policies also typically exclude losses from a number of perils, including disasters caused by floods, earthquakes, and war. Industry officials said that such events are difficult to predict and involve extensive losses that are a challenge for private insurers to cover. Insurers also exclude losses from defective products, which industry participants said could be addressed by manufacturer warranties and commercial general liability insurance. Intentional losses; damage from wear, tear, or neglect; and losses caused simultaneously by covered and uncovered perils, such as wind (covered) and flood (uncovered) during a hurricane are also generally excluded."