A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In an effort to reduce the risk of wildland fires, many federal land managers--including the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)--are placing greater emphasis on thinning forests and rangelands to help reduce the buildup of potentially hazardous fuels. These thinning efforts generate considerable quantities of woody material, including many smaller trees, limbs, and brush--referred to as woody biomass--that currently have little or no commercial value. GAO was asked to determine (1) which federal agencies are involved in efforts to promote the use of woody biomass, and actions they are undertaking; (2) how these agencies are coordinating their activities; and (3) what agencies see as obstacles to increasing the use of woody biomass, and the extent to which they are addressing these obstacles."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Based on limited previous GAO work that identified examples of purchases of new items at the same time identical items in excellent or good condition were excessed, GAO was asked to assess the overall economy and efficiency of the Department of Defense (DOD) program for excess property reutilization (reuse). Specifically, GAO was asked to determine (1) whether and to what extent the program included waste and inefficiency and (2) root causes of any waste and inefficiency. GAO was also asked to provide detailed examples of waste and inefficiency and the related causes. GAO's methodology included an assessment of controls, analysis of DOD excess inventory data, statistical sampling at selected sites, and detailed case studies of many items."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As the Department of Defense (DOD) prepares for the 2005 base realignment and closure (BRAC) round, questions continue to be raised about the transfer and environmental cleanup of unneeded property arising from the prior four BRAC rounds and their impact on cost and savings and on local economies. This report, which is being issued to the defense authorization committees that have oversight responsibility over defense infrastructure, describes DOD's progress in implementing prior BRAC postclosure actions. It addresses (1) the transfer of unneeded base property to other users, (2) the magnitude of the net savings accruing from the prior rounds, (3) estimated costs for environmental cleanup of BRAC property, and (4) the economic recovery of communities affected by base closures."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Chemicals play an important role in everyday life, but some may be harmful to human health and the environment. Chemicals are used to produce items widely used throughout society, including consumer products such as cleansers, paints, plastics, and fuels, as well as industrial solvents and additives. However, some chemicals, such as lead and mercury, are highly toxic at certain doses and need to be regulated because of health and safety concerns. In 1976, the Congress passed the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to authorize the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to control chemicals that pose an unreasonable risk to human health or the environment. GAO reviewed EPA's efforts to (1) control the risks of new chemicals not yet in commerce, (2) assess the risks of existing chemicals used in commerce, and (3) publicly disclose information provided by chemical companies under TSCA."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "On September 30, 2002, the most recent date for which Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) data were available, about 126,000 foster children were waiting to be adopted. Estimates suggest that a significant portion of these children had one or more special needs, such as a medical condition or membership in a minority group, that may discourage or delay their adoption. Federal support in the form of adoption subsidies and incentive payments to states is available to promote special needs adoption. This report (1) identifies the major challenges to placing and keeping special needs children in adoptive homes, (2) examines what states and HHS have done to facilitate special needs adoptions, and (3) assesses how well the Adoption Assistance Program and the Adoption Incentives Program have worked to facilitate special needs adoptions, and determines if changes might be needed."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Federal policy requires that small businesses receive the maximum practicable subcontracting opportunity for providing goods and services to large businesses that contract directly with federal agencies. The Department of Energy (DOE) annually directs almost $20 billion to the 34 "facility management contractors" of which $3.3 billion was redirected to small business subcontractors in fiscal year 2004. DOE negotiates annual small business subcontracting goals with individual contractors and monitors their achievements. GAO was asked to (1) determine the usefulness of the data that DOE uses to monitor subcontracting performance and (2) discuss the actions that DOE has taken to address any problems with the contractors' subcontracting efforts."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) consist of an unmanned aircraft; sensor, communications, or weapons, carried on board the aircraft, collectively referred to as payloads; and ground controls. UAS have been used successfully in recent operations, and are in increasingly high demand by U.S. forces. To meet the demand, the Department of Defense (DOD) is increasing its investment in and reliance on UAS, and often deploying them while still in development. GAO has previously found that DOD's approach to developing and fielding UAS risked interoperability problems which could undermine joint operations. GAO was asked to review (1) UAS performance in recent joint operations and (2) the soundness of DOD's approach to evaluating joint UAS operational performance."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO has previously reported that the lack of control over inventory shipments increases the Department of Defense's (DOD) vulnerability to undetected loss or theft. GAO evaluated the Army's effectiveness in maintaining accountability of inventory shipped to repair contractors. To conduct its review, GAO analyzed shipment data for fiscal year 2004, surveyed repair contractors that were recipients of inventory shipments, and assessed the Army's adherence to internal control procedures. Inventory shipments included both secondary repair items--components, assemblies, and subassemblies, other than major end items, which may be sent to commercial facilities for repair, alteration, or modification--and government-furnished materiel--assemblies, parts, and other items provided in support of this work."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reported in October 2002 that the visa process needed to be strengthened as an antiterrorism tool and recommended that the Secretary of State, in consultation with appropriate agencies, (1) develop a clear policy on the role of national security in the visa process, (2) create more comprehensive guidance on how consular officers should screen against potential terrorists, (3) fundamentally reassess staffing requirements, and (4) revamp and expand consular training. This report examines State's and other agencies' progress in implementing changes to the visa process since 2002, in the areas of policy and guidance; consular resources, including staffing and training; and information sharing."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Health centers in the federal Consolidated Health Centers program provide comprehensive primary health care services at one or more delivery sites, without regard to patients' ability to pay. In fiscal year 2002, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) began implementing the 5-year President's Health Centers Initiative. The initiative's goal is for the program to provide 1,200 grants in the neediest communities--630 grants for new delivery sites and 570 grants for expanded services at existing sites--by fiscal year 2006. GAO was asked to provide information on (1) funding of health centers and HRSA's process for assessing the need for services, (2) geographic distribution of health centers, and (3) HRSA's monitoring of health center performance."

The computational performance of two-dimensional Fortran 90 arrays defined with the pointer attribute were compared to identically sized arrays defined with the allocatable attribute. The goal of this work was to quantify the computational cost of using each array type within a high-performance finite element setting.

As a step toward investigating the parsec-scale properties of faint extragalactic radio sources, the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) was used at 5.0 GHz to obtain phase-referenced images of 76 sources in the NOAO Booetes field. These 76 sources were selected from the FIRST catalog to have peak flux densities above 10 mJy at 5'' resolution and deconvolved major diameters of less than 3'' at 1.4 GHz. Fifty-five of these faint radio sources were identified with accretion-powered radio galaxies and quasars brighter than 25.5 mag in the optical I band. On VLA scales at 1.4 GHz, a measure of the compactness of the faint sources (the ratio of the peak flux density from FIRST to the integrated flux density from the NVSS catalog) spans the full range of possibilities arising from source-resolution effects. Thirty of the faint radio sources, or 39{sub -7}{sup +9}%, were detected with the VLBA at 5.0 GHz with peak flux densities above 6 {sigma} {approx} 2 mJy at 2 mas resolution. The VLBA detections occur through the full range of compactness ratios. The stronger VLBA detections can themselves serve as phase-reference calibrators, boding well for opening up much of the radio sky to VLBA imaging. For …

We have measured and modeled the change in electrical resistivity due to partial transformation to the martensitic {alpha}{prime}-phase in a {delta}-phase Pu-Ga matrix. The primary objective is to relate the change in resistance, measured with a 4-probe technique during the transformation, to the volume fraction of the {alpha}{prime} phase created in the microstructure. Analysis by finite element methods suggests that considerable differences in the resistivity may be anticipated depending on the orientational and morphological configurations of the {alpha}{prime} particles. Finite element analysis of the computed resistance of an assembly of lenticular shaped particles indicates that series resistor or parallel resistor approximations are inaccurate and can lead to an underestimation of the predicted amount of {alpha}{prime} in the sample by 15% or more. Comparison of the resistivity of a simulated network of partially transformed grains or portions of grains suggests that a correction to the measured resistivity allows quantification of the amount of {alpha}{prime} phase in the microstructure with minimal consideration of how the {alpha}{prime} morphology may evolve. It is found that the average of the series and parallel resistor approximations provide the most accurate relationship between the measured resistivity and the amount of {alpha}{prime} phase. The methods described here are …

The analysis of extremely large data sets is time-consuming and tedious. In this project, we create two tools, the Image Inspector and the Video Inspector, to aid in the automated analysis of 3D temporal data from simulations. Our problem is the 3-dimensional time varying data of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability in a fluid mix problem. We examine the bubble dynamics due to the acceleration of gravity in an initially perturbed interface between a heavier and lighter fluid. Through the use of OpenGL and C++, we automate the capture of the temporal dependence of selected features along a chosen path in a time-dependent 3D simulation. The selected feature, e.g., the height of a bubble, is displayed graphically as a function of position and time. The path can be chosen arbitrarily; differing from previous projects which required the use of horizontal or vertical orientation.

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) State Energy Program (SEP) was established in 1996 by merging the State Energy Conservation Program (SECP) and the Institutional Conservation Program (ICP), both of which had been in existence since 1976 (U.S. DOE 2001a). The SEP provides financial and technical assistance for a wide variety of energy efficiency and renewable energy activities undertaken by the states and territories. SEP provides money to each state and territory according to a formula that accounts for population and energy use. In addition to these ''Formula Grants'', SEP ''Special Project'' funds are made available on a competitive basis to carry out specific types of energy efficiency and renewable energy activities (U.S. DOE 2003c). The resources provided by DOE typically are augmented by money and in-kind assistance from a number of sources, including other federal agencies, state and local governments, and the private sector. The states SEP efforts include several mandatory activities, such as establishing lighting efficiency standards for public buildings, promoting car and vanpools and public transportation, and establishing policies for energy-efficient government procurement practices. The states and territories also engage in a broad range of optional activities, including holding workshops and training sessions on a variety of …

This report discusses projected agricultural imports and exports for FY2002, as well as legislation that deals with federal programs in support of agricultural exports and federal aid dedicated to farms and agricultural reform.

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This report introduces researchers to selected basic sources that are useful in obtaining background information or specific facts on the status of federal legislative or regulatory initiatives. Printed, telephone, online, and media sources are included, as well as pertinent directories, such as those of organizations that track areas of interest.

On June 11, 2003, representatives from universities, federal and state government agencies, Department of Energy national laboratories, and the private sector attended a one-day workshop in Washington, DC. The objective of the workshop was to review and provide input into DOE's assessment of the market for advanced sensors and controls technology and potential R&D pathways to enhance their success in the buildings market place. The workshop consisted of two sessions. During the morning session, participants were given an overview on the following topics: market assessment, current applications and strategies for new applications, sensors and controls, networking, security, and protocols and standards, and automated diagnostics, performance measurement, commissioning and optimal control and tools. In the sessions, workshop participants were asked to review the potential R&D pathways, identify high priority activities, and outline a five year path for each of these activities. Priorities were as follows: largest and quickest impact; best use of finite resources; greatest likelihood for market penetration; and ability to replicate results. The participants identified several promising R&D opportunities.

This report provides a quantitative framework for policy considerations dealing with U.S. trade with China. It provides basic data and analysis of China’s international trade with the United States and other countries. Since Chinese data differ considerably from those of its trading partners (because of how entrepot trade through Hong Kong is counted), data from both PRC sources and those of its trading partners are presented. Charts showing import trends by sector for the United States highlight China’s growing market shares in many industries and also show import shares for Japan, Canada, Mexico, the European Union, and the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN ).

This report includes information regarding United States relations and bilateral issues with Jordan. Jordan's reaction to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Jordan's role in peace negotiations, and trade issues are among topics discussed in this report.

This report summarizes the Gang Deterrence and Community Protection Act (H.R. 1279) and its effects. This includes information such as an increase in criminal penalties assigned to violent crimes and expanding the instances where juveniles could be tried as adults. For more information see CRS Report RL32946 "Gang Deterrence A Legal Analysis of H.R. 1279 With References to S. 155.

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