A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Hurricane Katrina's storm surge and floodwaters breached levees and floodwalls causing billions of dollars of property damage, and more than 1,300 deaths. Under the Comptroller General's authority to conduct reviews on his own initiative, GAO reviewed the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) (1) progress in repairing damage to hurricane protection projects by June 1, 2006; (2) plans and estimated costs to make other repairs and complete five existing hurricane protection projects; and (3) plans and estimated costs to add enhancements and strengthen hurricane protection for the region. GAO reviewed related laws and regulations, Corps planning documents and repair tracking reports, observed ongoing repair work, and met with key agency officials and other stakeholders."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Despite substantial federal and state investment, states have not been able to meet all outcome measures for children in their care. Given the complexity of the challenges that state child welfare agencies face, GAO was asked to determine (1) the primary challenges state child welfare agencies face in their efforts to ensure the safety, well-being, and permanent placement of the children under their supervision; (2) the changes states have made to improve the outcomes for children in the child welfare system; and (3) the extent to which states participating in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSR) and technical assistance efforts find the assistance to be helpful. GAO surveyed child welfare agencies in 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico and visited 5 states, interviewed program officials, and reviewed laws, policies, and reports."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Congress continues to be concerned about the underrepresentation of U.S. professionals in some UN organizations and that insufficient progress has been made to improve U.S. representation. In 2001, GAO reported that several UN agencies fell short of their targets for U.S. representation and had not developed strategies to employ more Americans. This report reviews (1) U.S. representation status and employment trends at five UN agencies, (2) factors affecting these agencies' ability to meet employment targets, and (3) the U.S. Department of State's (State) efforts to improve U.S. representation and additional steps that can be taken. We reviewed five UN agencies that together comprise about 50 percent of total UN organizations' professional staff."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In response to Hurricane Katrina, countries and organizations donated to the United States government cash and in-kind donations, including foreign military assistance. The National Response Plan establishes that the Department of State (DOS) is the coordinator of all offers of international assistance. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is responsible for accepting the assistance and coordinating its distribution. In light of widespread congressional and public interest in U.S. agencies' accountability in receiving and distributing assistance to hurricane victims, this report is one of several initiated under the authority of the Comptroller General to review the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina. It examines (1) the amount and use of internationally donated cash, and (2) the extent to which federal agencies have adequate policies and procedures to ensure proper accountability for the acceptance and distribution of that assistance."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Staggers Rail Act deregulated the freight rail industry, relying on competition to set rates, and allowed for differential pricing (charging higher rates to those more dependent on rail). The act gave the Surface Transportation Board (STB) authority to develop remedies for shippers "captive" to one railroad and set a threshold for shippers to apply for rate relief. GAO was asked to review (1) changes in the railroad industry since the Staggers Rail Act, including rates and competition; (2) STB actions to address competition and captivity concerns and alternatives that could be considered; and (3) freight demand and capacity projections and potential federal policy responses. GAO examined STB data, conducted interviews, and held an expert panel."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Hurricane Katrina was the largest, most destructive natural disaster in our nation's history. The problems experienced in responding to Katrina resulted in a number of investigations--by congressional committees, the White House Homeland Security Council, and others--regarding the preparations for and response to Katrina. GAO assisted the congressional investigations and, under the Comptroller General's authority, initiated a number of Katrina-related reviews. In March 2006 testimony, GAO provided its preliminary observations to Congress. The purpose of this report is to summarize what went well and why, what did not go well and why, and what changes are needed to improve the nation's readiness to respond to a catastrophic disaster; and to identify selected issues associated with the Gulf Coast's recovery. This report is based on GAO's prior work on catastrophic disasters, including Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the over 30 GAO reports completed to date on Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, ongoing GAO work, and other Hurricane Katrina reviews and lessons learned."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In its role as the nation's tax collector, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has a demanding responsibility in annually collecting over $2 trillion in taxes, processing hundreds of millions of tax and information returns, and enforcing the nation's tax laws. Since its first audit of IRS's financial statements in fiscal year 1992, GAO has identified a number of weaknesses in IRS's financial management operations. In related reports, GAO has recommended corrective action to address those weaknesses. Each year, as part of the annual audit of IRS's financial statements, GAO not only makes recommendations to address any new weaknesses identified but also follows up on the status of weaknesses GAO identified in previous years' audits. The purpose of this report is to (1) assist IRS management in tracking the status of audit recommendations and actions needed to fully address them and (2) demonstrate how the recommendations fit into IRS's overall management and internal control structure."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast region of the United States and caused billions of dollars in damage. Hurricanes Rita and Wilma further exacerbated damage to the region. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), was tasked with the primary role of managing the federal relief and recovery efforts. This review was performed under the Comptroller General's authority because of widespread congressional interest in the response to this disaster. GAO examined whether the federal government was adequately tracking and reporting on the use of the funding provided in the four emergency supplemental appropriations acts enacted as of June 2006. GAO analyzed the emergency supplemental appropriations acts and conference reports, reviewed FEMA's required weekly reports, and interviewed federal agency officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) plans to procure the next generation of geostationary operational environmental satellites, called the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites-R series (GOES-R). This new series is considered critical to the United States' ability to maintain the continuity of data required for weather forecasting through the year 2028. GAO was asked to (1) determine the status of and plans for the GOES-R series procurement, and (2) identify and evaluate the actions that the program management team is taking to ensure that past problems experienced in procuring other satellite programs are not repeated."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Army considers its modular force transformation its most extensive restructuring since World War II. Restructuring units from a division-based force to a modular brigade-based force will require an investment of over $52 billion, including $41 billion for equipment, from fiscal year 2005 through fiscal year 2011, according to the Army. Because of broad congressional interest in this initiative, GAO prepared this report under the Comptroller General's authority and assessed (1) the Army's progress and plans for equipping modular combat brigades, (2) progress made and challenges to managing personnel requirements of the modular force, and (3) the extent to which the Army has developed an approach for assessing the results of its modular conversions and the need for further changes to designs or implementation plans."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) established the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) program to collect, maintain, and share data on selected foreign nationals entering and exiting the United States at air, sea and land ports of entry (POEs). These data, including biometric identifiers like digital fingerprints, are to be used to screen persons against watch lists, verify visitors' identities, and record arrival and departure. GAO was asked to review implementation at land POE facilities and in doing so GAO analyzed: (1) efforts to implement US-VISIT entry capability; (2) efforts to implement US-VISIT exit capability; and (3) DHS's efforts to define how US-VISIT fits with other emerging border security initiatives. GAO reviewed DHS and US-VISIT program documents, interviewed program officials, and visited 21 land POEs with varied traffic levels on both borders."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 2003, Congress has appropriated more than $20 billion through the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund (IRRF) to support Iraq rebuilding efforts. The majority of these efforts are being carried out through contracts awarded by the Departments of Defense (DOD) and State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). When awarding IRRF-funded contracts for $5 million or more noncompetitively, agencies are required by statute to provide notification and justification to Congress. In June 2004, GAO found that agencies generally complied with laws and regulations governing competition to award new contracts, but did not always comply with competition requirements when issuing task orders under existing contracts. As mandated by Congress, this report (1) describes the extent of competition in Iraq reconstruction contracts awarded by DOD, USAID, and State since October 1, 2003, based on available data, and (2) assesses whether these agencies followed applicable documentation and congressional notification requirements regarding competition for 51 judgmentally selected Iraq reconstruction contract actions. In written comments, State and USAID concurred with the report findings. DOD provided a technical comment."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Congress established federal standards for the child support enforcement program (CSE) in 1975. State agencies administer the program and the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) oversees it. The CSE program provides several services, including collecting child support payments from noncustodial parents--those who are not the primary caregivers--and distributing these payments to families. Generally, the federal government reimburses state agencies 66 percent of their costs for administering the CSE program. GAO determined (1) how total net federal expenditures for administrative costs changed from fiscal year 2000 to fiscal year 2004; (2) the categories of costs that contributed most to administrative costs in recent years; and (3) steps state agencies have taken to manage costs, and steps OCSE has taken to help state agencies and ensure federal funds have been used appropriately. GAO analyzed program data, surveyed all 54 state agencies and visited 6, interviewed program officials, and reviewed laws, policies, and reports."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "With the current governmentwide telecommunications contracts set to expire, the General Services Administration's (GSA) Federal Technology Service (FTS) and its customer agencies must prepare to transition their services to a new contract vehicle. The previous federal effort to transition telecommunications services proved to be a large, complex task. GAO was asked to determine to what extent (1) selected agencies used sound practices in preparing for the transition and (2) GSA's FTS has prepared for the transition by addressing previous lessons learned and providing agencies with guidance on sound transition planning."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center houses numerous complex computer systems for tracking air, missile, and space events that could threaten homeland security or undermine military operations in theater. To ensure this mission can be met, the systems require ongoing upgrades. The most recent upgrade program--the Combatant Commanders' Integrated Command and Control System (CCIC2S)--was initiated in 2000. Given the critical missions supported by Cheyenne Mountain systems, GAO initiated a review to (1) determine the status of the CCIC2S program in terms of meeting its cost, schedule, and performance goals; (2) gauge the extent to which DOD has followed best practices in managing program requirements; and (3) assess DOD's control and oversight mechanisms for CCIC2S."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As a result of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, taxpayers facing liens or levies can request a Collection Due Process (CDP) appeal hearing with IRS's Office of Appeals (Appeals). By 2005, CDP cases represented about one-quarter of Appeals' workload. GAO was asked to provide information on (1) whether the IRS Collection function (Collection) erred in processing liens and levies and how often CDP case results changed after the appeal, (2) the arguments raised and the communication between IRS and taxpayers, (3) the characteristics of CDP taxpayers, and (4) potential improvements to the CDP program. To develop this information, GAO analyzed a random sample of 208 CDP cases closed by Appeals during fiscal year 2004."

A chapter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The 2004 general election was the first presidential election that tested substantial changes states made to their election systems since the 2000 election, including some changes required by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). HAVA required some major changes in the nation's elections processes, not all which had to be implemented by the November 2004 election. HAVA addressed issues of people, processes, and technology, all of which must be effectively integrated to ensure effective election operations. GAO initiated a review under the authority of the Comptroller General to examine an array of election issues of broad interest to Congress. For each major stage of the election process, this report discusses (1) changes to election systems since the 2000 election, including steps taken to implement HAVA, and (2) challenges encountered in the 2004 election. For this report, GAO sent a survey to the 50 states and the District of Columbia (all responded) and mailed a questionnaire to a nationwide sample of 788 local election jurisdictions about election administration activities (80 percent responded). To obtain more detailed information about experiences for the 2004 election, GAO also …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service (the services) are responsible for administration and implementation of the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The act generally requires the services to develop recovery plans for endangered and threatened species--species facing extinction or likely to face extinction, respectively. Recovery plans identify threats to the species' survival and the actions needed to mitigate those threats. Proposed amendments to the act are under consideration and GAO was asked to provide information to facilitate this effort. In April 2006, GAO issued a report providing high-level information on the extent to which recovery plans contain estimates of when species are expected to be recovered, among other things. This follow-on report provides more detailed information on the factors that affect species recovery and the importance of recovery plans in recovery efforts. For 31 species--selected because they were nearing recovery, or had significant attention devoted to them and thus would be expected to be making progress towards recovery--GAO (1) identifies factors affecting the length of time to recover the species and (2) describes the role recovery plans have played in …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1990, GAO has considered Medicare at high risk for fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. The Medicare Integrity Program (MIP) provides funds to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS--the agency that administers Medicare--to safeguard over $300 billion in program payments made on behalf of its beneficiaries. CMS conducts five program integrity activities: audits; medical reviews of claims; determinations of whether Medicare or other insurance sources have primary responsibility for payment, called secondary payer; benefit integrity to address potential fraud cases; and provider education. In this report, GAO determined (1) the amount of MIP funds that CMS has allocated to the five program integrity activities over time, (2) the approach that CMS uses to allocate MIP funds, and (3) how major changes in the Medicare program may affect MIP funding allocations."

Water injection has been recognized as a powerful techniquefor enhancing energy recovery from vapor-dominated geothermal systemssuch as The Geysers. In addition to increasing reservoir pressures,production well flow rates, and long-term sustainability of steamproduction, injection has also been shown to reduce concentrations ofnon-condensible gases (NCGs) in produced steam. The latter effectimproves energy conversion efficiency and reduces corrosion problems inwellbores and surface lines.This report reviews thermodynamic andhydrogeologic conditions and mechanisms that play an important role inreservoir response to water injection. An existing general-purposereservoir simulator has been enhanced to allow modeling of injectioneffects in heterogeneous fractured reservoirs in three dimensions,including effects of non-condensible gases of different solubility.Illustrative applications demonstrate fluid flow and heat transfermechanisms that are considered crucial for developing approaches to insitu abatement of NCGs.

The objective of this project is to apply the Argonne National Laboratory's Glass Furnace Model (GFM) to the Longhorn oxy-fuel furnace to improve energy efficiency and to investigate the transport of gases released from the batch/melt into the exhaust. The model will make preliminary estimates of the local concentrations of water, carbon dioxide, elemental oxygen, and other subspecies in the entire combustion space as well as the concentration of these species in the furnace exhaust gas. This information, along with the computed temperature distribution in the combustion space may give indications on possible locations of crown corrosion. An investigation into the optimization of the furnace will be performed by varying several key parameters such as the burner firing pattern, exhaust number/size, and the boost usage (amount and distribution). Results from these parametric studies will be analyzed to determine more efficient methods of operating the furnace that reduce crown corrosion. Finally, computed results from the GFM will be qualitatively correlated to measured values, thus augmenting the validation of the GFM.

The well-known Kapchinskij-Vladimirskij (KV) equations are difficult to solve in general, but the problem is simplified for the matched-beam case with sufficient symmetry. They show that the interdependence of the two KV equations is eliminated, so that only one needs to be solved--a great simplification. They present an iterative method of solution which can potentially yield any desired level of accuracy. The lowest level, the well-known smooth approximation, yields simple, explicit results with good accuracy for weak or moderate focusing fields. The next level improves the accuracy for high fields; they previously showed how to maintain a simple explicit format for the results. That paper used expansion in a small parameter to obtain the second level. The present paper, using straightforward iteration, obtains equations of first, second, and third levels of accuracy. For a periodic lattice with beam matched to lattice, they use the lattice and beam parameters as input and solve for phase advances and envelope waveforms. They find excellent agreement with numerical solutions over a wide range of beam emittances and intensities.

Individual raw data streams from instrumentation at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program Climate Research Facility (ACRF) fixed and mobile sites are collected and sent to the Data Management Facility (DMF) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for processing in near real time. Raw and processed data are then sent daily to the ACRF Archive, where they are made available to users. For each instrument, we calculate the ratio of the actual number of data records received daily at the Archive to the expected number of data records. The results are tabulated by (1) individual data stream, site, and month for the current year and (2) site and fiscal year dating back to 1998. The U.S. Department of Energy requires national user facilities to report time-based operating data. The requirements concern the actual hours of operation (ACTUAL); the estimated maximum operation or uptime goal (OPSMAX), which accounts for planned downtime; and the VARIANCE [1-(ACTUAL/OPSMAX)], which accounts for unplanned downtime. The OPSMAX time for the third quarter for the Southern Great Plains (SGP) site is 2,074.80 hours (0.95 x 2,184 hours this quarter). The OPSMAX for the North Slope Alaska (NSA) locale is 1,965.60 hours (0.90 x 2,184), and that for …

This dissertation describes the measurement of the B{sup 0}{bar B}{sup 0} oscillation frequency {Delta}m{sub d} with a sample of 122 x 10{sup 6} B{bar B} pairs collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric B Factory at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. A fully inclusive approach is used to select dilepton events in which B meson decays semileptonically and the lepton's charge is employed to identify the flavor of each B meson. The oscillation frequency {Delta}m{sub d} is extracted from the time evolution of the dilepton events. A maximum likelihood fit to the same sign and opposite sign events simultaneously gives {Delta}m{sub d} = (0.485 {+-} 0.009(stat.) {+-} 0.010(syst.)) ps{sup 1} where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. This is one of the single most precise measurements of the B{sup 0}{bar B}{sup 0} oscillation frequency to date.