A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Intercity passenger rail service is at a critical juncture in the United States. Amtrak, the current service provider, requires $1 billion a year in federal subsidies to stay financially viable but cannot keep pace with its deteriorating infrastructure. At the same time, the federal government faces growing fiscal challenges. To assist the Congress, GAO reviewed (1) the existing U.S. system and its potential benefits, (2) how foreign countries have handled passenger rail reform and how well the United States is positioned to consider reform, (3) challenges inherent in attempting reform efforts, and (4) potential options for the federal role in intercity passenger rail. GAO analyzed data on intercity passenger rail performance and studied reform efforts in Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense's (DOD) Integrated Global Posture and Basing Strategy calls for a comprehensive restructuring of U.S. forces overseas. DOD's planned changes will require billions of dollars to implement at a time when DOD is supporting operations in Iraq and realigning domestic bases. As requested, GAO examined (1) the extent to which DOD has articulated a global posture strategy that has the characteristics necessary to guide its efforts and to achieve desired results and (2) the challenges that could affect DOD's implementation of its strategy and the mechanisms DOD has in place to inform Congress of its overall progress in achieving global posture goals."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Unlike state and local governments, Indian tribal governments are in general restricted to using tax-exempt bonds for activities that are an "essential government function," where "essential government function" does not include functions not customarily performed by state and local governments. This restriction has been difficult to enforce by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and increased the tax compliance burden on Indian tribal governments. GAO was asked for information on the number of facilities that state and local governments finance, construct, and operate in eight categories: (1) Rental housing, (2) Road infrastructure, (3) Parking garages and lots, (4) Community recreational facilities, (5) Golf courses, (6) Conference centers, (7) Hotel and tourist accommodations, and (8) State-owned gaming support facilities. GAO did not find a comprehensive, reliable source of the number of facilities. Instead, GAO searched and found a variety of public and private sources that had limited information on the amounts of financing provided by state and local governments in related categories."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Along with private mortgage providers, the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has been impacted by technological advances that began in the mid-1990s and that have significantly affected the way the mortgage industry works. As a result, in 2004, FHA implemented Technology Open to Approved Lenders (TOTAL) Scorecard--an automated tool that evaluates the majority of new loans insured by FHA. However, questions have emerged about the effectiveness of TOTAL. Given these concerns, you asked GAO to evaluate the way the agency developed and uses this new tool. This report looks at (1) the reasonableness of FHA's approach to developing TOTAL and (2) the potential benefits to HUD of expanding its use of TOTAL."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Government-sponsored public service announcement (PSA) campaigns are prepackaged messages generally placed for free through various media to promote designated government activities, programs, or services. Although PSAs may be placed for free, PSA campaigns may still incur financial obligations for production. GAO was mandated to provide information about federal PSA campaign activities by a House Appropriations Committee report (House Report No.108-671). GAO received detailed information on PSA campaigns for the seven federal departments with the highest obligations for public relations and advertising in fiscal year 2003--Commerce, Defense, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Interior, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs--as reported in a governmentwide federal procurement data system. GAO submitted questionnaires to these seven departments to obtain information for fiscal year 2003 through the second quarter of fiscal year 2005 on (1) obligations incurred for PSA campaigns, including whether obligations were incurred externally, such as through a contract, or internally; (2) the purpose, audience, and type of media employed; and (3) whether campaigns were evaluated for success and their results published in performance reports, including Government Performance Results Act (GPRA) reports."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government contracts with public relations firms, advertising agencies, media organizations, and individual members of the media to provide, among other things, messages about its programs and services. As we have reported, there is a lack of accurate governmentwide information on these contracts. Seven federal departments account for nearly all the obligated federal dollars for public relations and advertising activities in fiscal year 2003--Commerce, Defense, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Interior, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs. GAO submitted a questionnaire to each of these seven departments to obtain information for fiscal year 2003 through the second quarter of fiscal year 2005 on (1) the number of contracts with public relations firms, advertising agencies, media organizations, and individual members of the media for which obligations have been incurred; (2) the total amount of contract obligations incurred on each contract by fiscal year; (3) the method by which the contract was awarded--competed, noncompeted, follow-on to competed action, or not available for competition; and (4) summaries of the purpose and scope of work to be performed under each contract."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For tax year 2001, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) estimated a tax gap of at least $11 billion from individual taxpayers misreporting income from capital assets (generally those owned for investment or personal purposes). IRS did not estimate the portion of this gap from securities (e.g., stocks, bonds, and mutual fund capital gains distributions). GAO was asked for information on (1) the extent and types of noncompliance for individual taxpayers that misreport securities capital gains, (2) actions IRS takes to reduce the securities tax gap, and (3) options with the potential to improve taxpayer voluntary compliance and IRS's ability to address noncompliant taxpayers. For estimates of noncompliance, GAO analyzed a probability sample of examination cases for tax year 2001 from the most recent IRS study of individual tax compliance."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2003, Congress created the Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO) to plan for and coordinate, with federal and nonfederal stakeholders, a transformation from the current air traffic control system to the "next generation air transportation system" (NGATS) by 2025. Housed within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), JPDO has seven partner agencies: the Departments of Transportation, Commerce, Defense, and Homeland Security; FAA; the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. FAA will have primary responsibility for implementing NGATS. This report addresses (1) the status of JPDO's efforts to plan for NGATS, (2) the key challenges facing JPDO, and (3) the key challenges facing FAA as it implements the transformation. To address these issues, GAO reviewed relevant documents, interviewed agency officials and stakeholders, and conducted an expert panel."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. aerospace industry's wide-ranging activities--including commercial aviation, national security, and space exploration--make it critical to the economic health and strategic strength of our nation. However, the industry faces challenges, such as a national air traffic management system that, in its present form, cannot handle expected increases in demand; an aging aerospace workforce; and an increasingly competitive global market. In response to these and other challenges, Congress established the Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry in 2001 to recommend potential actions by the federal government and others to support a robust aerospace industry in the 21st century. In 2002, the Commission made recommendations to address these challenges. This report discusses (1) the extent to which federal agencies have addressed selected Commission recommendations and (2) the challenges that remain in addressing the recommendations. Based on the opinions of former Commissioners and GAO research, GAO selected recommendations dealing with the national airspace system, space policy, government-wide management structure, international issues, the aerospace workforce, and research and development. This report is based on reviews of agency documents, literature, and interviews with aerospace experts and officials …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to help protect investors and restore investor confidence. While the act has generally been recognized as important and necessary, some concerns have been expressed about the cost for small businesses. In this report, GAO (1) analyzes the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on smaller public companies, particularly in terms of compliance costs; (2) describes responses of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) to concerns raised by smaller public companies; and (3) analyzes smaller public companies' access to auditing services and the extent to which the share of public companies audited by mid-sized and small accounting firms has changed since the act was passed."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Because of broad congressional interest, GAO is examining the costs of military operations in support of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) under the Comptroller General's authority to conduct evaluations on his own initiative. In September 2005, GAO reported the Department of Defense (DOD) cannot ensure reported GWOT obligations are complete, reliable, and accurate, and recommended improvements. In this report, GAO (1) compared supplemental and annual appropriations identified for GWOT in fiscal year 2006 to the military services' reported obligations as of June 2006 and their cost projections for the remainder of the fiscal year, and (2) examined DOD's efforts to improve the reliability of GWOT obligation data. For this engagement, GAO analyzed fiscal year 2006 GWOT related appropriations and reported obligations, and DOD's corrective actions."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Every year, food stamp recipients exchange hundreds of millions of dollars in benefits for cash instead of food with retailers across the country, a practice known as trafficking. From 2000 to 2005, the Food Stamp Program has grown from $15 billion to $29 billion in benefits. During this period of time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) replaced paper food stamp coupons with electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards that work much like a debit card at the grocery checkout counter. Given these program changes and continuing retailer fraud, GAO was asked to provide information on (1) what is known about the extent and nature of retailer food stamp trafficking, (2) the efforts of federal agencies to combat such trafficking, and (3) program vulnerabilities. To do this, GAO interviewed agency officials, visited 10 field offices, conducted case file reviews, and analyzed data from the FNS retailer database."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Medicare covers dialysis--a process that removes excess fluids and toxins from the bloodstream--for most individuals with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), a condition of permanent kidney failure. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) pays for certain dialysis services under a type of bundled rate, called a composite rate, and, for certain dialysis-related drugs, pays a separate rate per dose each time the drug is administered. These drugs are referred to as "separately billable" and are paid at 6 percent above manufacturers' average sales price (ASP). Recently, the Congress required CMS to explore the creation of a bundled payment for all ESRD services, including separately billable drugs. GAO was asked to examine (1) recent changes in payments for ESRD services, (2) the ASP payment method of setting rates for separately billable ESRD drugs, and (3) CMS efforts to develop a bundled payment method that includes all ESRD drugs. GAO obtained information for this study from CMS, the U.S. Renal Data System, ESRD experts, and previously issued GAO reports."

The purpose of this report is to provide information needed by the DOE to assess WIPP's environmental performance and to make WIPP environmental information available to stakeholders and members of the public. This report has been prepared in accordance with DOE Order 231.1A and DOE guidance. This report documents WIPP's environmental monitoring programs and their results for 2004. The WIPP Project is authorized by the DOE National Security and Military Applications of Nuclear Energy Authorization Act of 1980 (Pub. L. 96-164). After more than 20 years of scientific study and public input, WIPP received its first shipment of waste on March 26, 1999. Located in southeastern New Mexico, WIPP is the nation's first underground repository permitted to safely and permanently dispose of TRU radioactive and mixed waste (as defined in the WIPP LWA) generated through defense activities and programs. TRU waste is defined, in the WIPP LWA, as radioactive waste containing more than 100 nanocuries (3,700 becquerels [Bq]) of alpha-emitting TRU isotopes per gram of waste, with half-lives greater than 20 years except for high-level waste, waste that has been determined not to require the degree of isolation required by the disposal regulations, and waste the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission …

Section 9006 of Title IX of The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (the '2002 Farm Bill') established the Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements Program (the 'Section 9006 program'). Administered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Section 9006 program provides grants, loan guarantees, and - perhaps in the future - direct loans to farmers, ranchers, and rural small businesses for assistance with purchasing renewable energy systems and making energy efficiency improvements. In the three rounds of Section 9006 funding to date (FY03-FY05), roughly 40% of all grant dollars in aggregate have been awarded to 'large' (defined as > 100 kW) wind projects. Such projects are also typically eligible for the Federal Production Tax Credit (PTC) codified in Section 45 of the US tax code. Because the PTC provides a significant amount of value to a wind project, most 'large wind' applicants to the Section 9006 program have also tried to take advantage of the PTC. Through what are known as 'anti-double-dipping' or, more colloquially, 'haircut' provisions, however, the size of the PTC is reduced if a project receives certain other forms of governmental support. Specifically, Section 45(b)(3) of the US tax code reduces …

This cleanup verification package documents completion of remedial action for the 118-B-6, 108-B Solid Waste Burial Ground. The 118-B-6 site consisted of 2 concrete pipes buried vertically in the ground and capped by a concrete pad with steel lids. The site was used for the disposal of wastes from the "metal line" of the P-10 Tritium Separation Project.

This report presents the analyses results for three samples obtained under RPP-PLAN-28509, Sampling and Analysis Plan for Building 241 702-AZ A Train. The sampling and analysis was done in response to problem evaluation request number PER-2004-6139, 702-AZ Filter Rooms Need Radiological Cleanup Efforts.

This cleanup verification package documents completion of remedial action for the 300 Area Vitrification Test Site, also known as the 300 VTS site. The site was used by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory as a field demonstration site for in situ vitrification of soils containing simulated waste.

According to the results from a Livermore computer model, some of the small change jingling in your pocket contains zinc and copper created in massive gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) that rank as the most impressive light shows in the universe. Livermore astrophysicist Jason Pruet and his colleagues Rebecca Surman and Gail McLaughlin from North Carolina State University (NCSU) reported on their calculations in the February 20, 2004, issue of ''Astrophysical Journal Letters''. They found that GRBs from black holes surrounded by a disk of dense, hot plasma may have contributed heavily to the galactic inventory of elements such as calcium, scandium, titanium, zinc, and copper. ''A typical GRB of this kind briefly outshines all the stars in millions of galaxies combined'', says Pruet. ''Plus it makes about 100 times as much of some common elements as an ordinary supernova''.

This document is a final report for DOE grant DE-FG02-00ER41147. The research described herein was funded in large part by this grant with additional support from the National Science Foundation. The primary focus of Averett's research effort is centered around the polarized {sup 3}He target in Hall A at Jefferson Lab. The close proximity of the College of William and Mary to Jefferson Lab has provided an outstanding opportunity to maintain a very active research program which still satisfying the demands of the college. Our research group includes four faculty, two post-doctoral fellows and eight graduate students. Averett also maintains a fully functional polarized {sup 3}e target lab at William and Mary which allows him to support the research program at Jefferson Lab while also doing research on polarized targets themselves. Since 1998, seven experiments using polarized {sup 3}He have been completed by the Jefferson Lab Hall A Polarized {sup 3}He Collaboration. Ten publications have been produced on this research and analysis of the two most recently completed experiments is underway. A description of the recent experiments and results is given below. In addition to target expertise, Averett has remained one of the most active collaborators in the data analysis …

In this project, GE developed electrolyzer stack technologies to meet DOE’s goals for low cost electrolysis hydrogen. The main barrier to meeting the targets for electrolyzer cost was in stack assembly and construction. GE’s invention of a single piece or “monolithic” plastic electrolyzer stack reduces these costs considerably. In addition, GE developed low cost cell electrodes using a novel application of metal spray coating technology. Bench scale stack testing and cost modeling indicates that the DOE targets for stack capital cost and efficiency can be met by full-scale production of industrial electrolyzers incorporating GE’s stack technology innovations.

This project was intended to advance the science of surface bonding in order to provide the functionality demanded by target fabrication requirements, as well as similar needs in other fields of importance to LLNL. We have developed and demonstrated a very powerful capability, i.e. 'single molecule force spectroscopy', that allows the strength of individual chemical bonds to be measured. This project focused on long chain molecules that are covalently bound to surfaces on one end and have complementary reactive groups that have the potential for bridging between surfaces. In biological systems, long chain tethers provide the mechanism for adhesion between dissimilar surfaces, e.g. bacteria adhesion to cells, and were found useful for developing the methodology. Polymer tethers offer the means to bridge across finite surface roughness and have the potential of forming thin, well-characterized bonds on a variety of surfaces.

None

The goal of this project is to measure transport through CNTs and study effects of confinement at molecular scale. This work is motivated by several simulation papers in high profile journals that predict significantly higher transport rates of gases and liquids through carbon nanotubes as compared with similarly-sized nanomaterials (e.g. zeolites). The predictions are based on the effects of confinement, atomically smooth pore walls and high pore density. Our work will provide the first measurements that would compare to and hopefully validate the simulations. Gas flux is predicted to be >1000X greater for SWNTs versus zeolitesi. A high flux of 6-30 H2O/NT/ns {approx} 8-40 L/min for a 1cm{sup 2} membrane is also predicted. Neutron diffraction measurements indicate existence of a 1D water chain within a cylindrical ice sheet inside carbon nanotubes, which is consistent with the predictions of the simulation. The enabling experimental platform that we are developing is a semipermeable membrane made out of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes with gaps between nanotubes filled so that the transport occurs through the nanotubes. The major challenges of this project included: (1) Growth of CNTs in the suitable vertically aligned configuration, especially the single wall carbon nanotubes; (2) Development of a process …