To measure and classify the Post-Rosenbluth convective loss-cone instability in MFTF, we propose to use a CO/sub 2/ laser consisting of a TEA-pulsed section and a low pressure CW section, together with a light mixing receiver. Calculations show that this system offers sufficient power and sensitivity to detect instability throughout the range from strong coherent light scattering to weak incoherent scattering when the instability is eliminated.

Cycle study performed on a closed loop Brayton cycle incorporating a gas-cooled nuclear reactor, regeneration, and compressor intercooling. The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of various cycle parameters on efficiency and cost.

This report discusses legislation (S. 707 and H.R. 1722) designed to foster the development of telework in executive agencies of the federal government.

In recent years, major outbreaks of foodborne illnesses, product recalls, and reports about unsafe food imports have caused some to question the adequacy of the U.S. food safety system. Stakeholders appear to agree that an optimal system should encompass a comprehensive, preventive approach to food safety, focusing on those foods and points in the food system that pose the greatest public health risks, starting at the point of production - that is, on farms and ranches. This report discusses differing opinions on this topic, as well as related legislation.

This report addresses some of the critical matters a House committee chair confronts from the time of the early organization meetings in November to approximately the spring district work-period in March or April. The report is divided into the following sections: Transition, Administrative Matters, Committee Organization, Committee Procedure and the Role of the Chair, Procedural Tools for Committee Chairs, Floor Consideration and the Role of the Chair, and Legislative Issues and Agenda.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) goal is to receive 80 percent of all major types of tax returns electronically by 2012. Legislation passed in November 2009 supports the 80 percent goal for individual income tax returns by requiring tax return preparers who file more than 10 individual returns per year to file them electronically, or e-file. GAO was asked to review IRS's implementation of this e-file mandate. Specifically, GAO (1) described e-file rates and preparers' experiences implementing the mandate, (2) assessed IRS's plans to enforce the mandate, (3) assessed IRS's analysis of options for digitizing more data from paper returns, and (4) determined whether there are any tax forms IRS cannot accept electronically and assessed IRS's plans for adding them to the e-file system. To conduct these analyses, GAO reviewed IRS processing data and e-file planning documents, and interviewed IRS officials and 26 members of national preparer organizations."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Automation and information technology (IT) are expected to play a critical role in the 2010 decennial census. The Census Bureau plans to spend about $3 billion on automation and technology that are to improve the accuracy and efficiency of census collection, processing, and dissemination. The Bureau is holding what it refers to as a Dress Rehearsal, during which it plans to conduct operational testing that includes the decennial systems. In view of the importance of IT acquisitions to the upcoming census, GAO was asked to (1) determine the status and plans for four key IT acquisitions, including schedule and cost, and (2) assess whether the Bureau is adequately managing associated risks. To achieve its objectives, GAO analyzed acquisition documents and the projects' risk management activities and compared these activities to industry standards."

In order to protect the U.S. industrial base during periods of adversity and war, Congress passed a set of domestic source restrictions which became known as the Berry Amendment. Specialty metal represented one of fourteen items previously covered under the Berry Amendment. Congress took action in the FY2007 National Defense Authorization Act to move the specialty metal provision from the Berry Amendmgent into a separate section of Title 10. This report examines the specialty metal provision, potential oversight issues for Congress, and options that Congress may choose to consider.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO continues to have concerns about restatements to federal agencies' previously issued financial statements. During fiscal year 2005, at least 7 of the 24 Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act agencies restated certain of their fiscal year 2004 financial statements to correct misstatements. To study this trend, GAO reviewed the nature and causes of the restatements made by certain CFO Act agencies in fiscal year 2004 to their fiscal year 2003 financial statements. Eleven CFO Act agencies had restatements for fiscal year 2003. Nine of those 11 received unqualified opinions on their originally issued fiscal year 2003 financial statements. GAO's view is that users of federal agencies' financial statements and the related audit reports need to be provided at least a basic understanding of why a restatement was necessary and its effect on the agencies' previously issued financial statements and related audit reports. This report communicates GAO's observations on the transparency and timeliness of the 9 federal agencies' and their auditors' restatement disclosures."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Takeoffs, landings, and movement around the surface areas of airports (the terminal area) are critical to the safe and efficient movement of air traffic. The nation's aviation system is arguably the safest in the world, but close calls involving aircraft or other vehicles at or near airports are common, occurring almost daily. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) provides oversight of the terminal area and has taken action to improve safety, but has been called upon by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and others to take additional steps to improve its oversight. As requested, this report addresses (1) recent actions FAA has taken to improve safety in the terminal area, (2) recent trends in terminal area safety and factors contributing to those trends, and (3) any additional actions FAA could take to improve safety in the terminal area. To address these issues, GAO analyzed data from FAA data; reviewed reports and FAA documents; and interviewed federal and industry officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Over the last 10 years, the cost to confine federal Bureau of Prison (BOP) inmates in non-BOP facilities has nearly tripled from about $250 million in fiscal year 1996 to about $700 million in fiscal year 2006. Proponents of using contractors to operate prisons claim it can save money; others question whether contracting is a cost-effective alternative. In response to Conference Report 109-272, accompanying Pub. L. No. 109-108 (2005), this report discusses the feasibility and implications of comparing the costs for confining federal inmates in low and minimum security BOP facilities with those managed by private firms for BOP. GAO reviewed available data on a selection of 34 low and minimum security facilities; related laws, regulations, and documents; and interviewed BOP and contract officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Despite various reform efforts, significant inefficiencies in United Nations (UN) management operations persist. In September 2005, heads of UN member states approved a resolution that called for a series of reforms to strengthen the organization. As the largest financial contributor to the UN, the United States has a strong interest in the progress of UN reform initiatives. GAO was asked to (1) identify and track the status of UN management reforms in five key areas and (2) identify factors that may affect the implementation of these reform initiatives. To address these objectives, GAO reviewed documents proposing UN management reform and interviewed U.S. and UN officials."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report summarizes GAO's findings on the Department of Defense's (DOD) Future Years Defense Program (FYDP). Although total funding in the 2001 FYDP is about $16 billion more than in the 2000 FYDP, DOD may not be able to implement its operation and maintenance and procurement programs as planned. GAO identified several areas in which costs may be understated or savings overstated, increasing the risk that in the next FYDP the military will have to shift more funds to these accounts from other accounts. DOD's efforts to reduce its infrastructure costs may not yield the savings that it planned to use to fund modernization and readiness needs. Because the military services and the defense organizations have already adjusted their current budgets and future years funding projects to reflect these expected savings, they will likely experience funding shortfalls unless other adjustments are made or additional ends are provided."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Migration from the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Palau has had a significant impact on Guam, Hawaii, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). The health and education needs of these migrants have particularly affected the budgetary resources of Guam and the CNMI. The budgetary impact on Hawaii is smaller but is expected to grow as Hawaii absorbs health care costs once covered by the U.S. government. Public health is an important concern for all three U.S. island areas. Migrants from the region with limited financial means are able to enter the United States with few restrictions, and U.S. island areas are absorbing much of the health care costs of this population. Furthermore, Guam, Hawaii, and the CNMI can be expected to continue to experience migration as long as weak economic conditions persist in Micronesia and the Marshall Islands. Targeting future U.S. assistance to Micronesia and the Marshall Islands for education and health purposes could reduce some of the motivation to migrate. Improvements in migrant health and education status might be expected to reduce immigration to U.S. destinations."

In 2001 and 2003, Congress enacted major tax cuts (popularly referred to as the "Bush tax cuts"), the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 and the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003. Congress is currently debating whether to extend some or all of these tax cuts that are scheduled to expire at the end of 2010. This report discusses the two main economic arguments against allowing the tax cuts to expire as scheduled, using historical evidence and by examining the current economic environment.

This paper describes results from the initial thermal barrier experiments in the Tandem Mirror Experiment-Upgrade (TMX-U). Strong end plugging has been produced using a combination of ECRH gyrotrons with sloshing ion beam injection. Plugging has been achieved with a central cell higher than that of the end plugs. In these low-density central cell experiments (7 x 10/sup 11/ cm/sup -3/) the axial losses (tau/sub parallel to/ = 20 to 80 ms) are smaller than the radial losses (tau/sub perpendicular to/ = 4 to 8 ms). Although no direct measurements are yet available to determine if a thermal barrier potential dip is generated, these experiments support many theoretical features of the thermal barrier concept.

A cost effective, highly efficient, and automatic method of intercomparing standard cells has been sought after and implemented, utilizing computer control and a commercially available scanner. This system reduces intercomparison time from 4 hours to 30 minutes using the standard National Bureau of Standard (NBS) 4 x 4 design. 7 figs., 1 tab.

This report examines three labor issues and arguments related to the pending U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement (CFTA; H.R. 5724 and S. 2830): violence against trade unionists; impunity (accountability for or punishment of the perpetrators); and worker rights protections for Colombians.

This report analyzes the FY2011 request, recent-year funding trends, and congressional action related to FY2011 State-Foreign Operations legislation.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The mission of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is to safeguard and preserve government records, ensuring continuing access to the essential documentation of the rights of American citizens and the actions of their government. However, in today's environment of fast-evolving information technology, federal agencies are creating vast and growing volumes of electronic records while continuing to create physical records in large numbers. Accordingly, GAO was asked to assess NARA's effectiveness in overseeing the governmentwide management of records, including commenting on its capacity to identify risk of unlawful destruction of federal records; describe its ability to preserve permanent records; and assess its policies, procedures, and plans supporting key management and oversight capabilities (collaboration, governance, and human capital). To do so, GAO analyzed NARA documentation in these areas, interviewed agency officials, and reviewed prior work."

This report discusses the current political conditions of Kazahkstan, as well as U.S. policy interests regarding Kazahkstan.

Annual Illness and Injury Surveillance Program report for 2003 for the Pantex Plant. DOE is commited to assuring the health and safety of its workers. This includes the conduct of epidemiologic surveillance activities that provide an early warning system for health problems among workers. The IISP monitors illnesses and health conditions that result in an absence of workdays, occupational injuries and illnesses, and disabilities and deaths among current workers.

Annual Illness and Injury Surveillance Program report for 2003 for the Savannah River Site. DOE is commitment to assuring the health and safety of its workers includes the conduct of epidemiologic surveillance activities that provide an early warning system for health problems among workers. The report monitors illnesses and health conditions that result in an absence of workdays, occupational injuries and illnesses, and disabilities and deaths among current workers.

In connection with the ORR Hastelloy-N irradiation experiments, a limited number of tensile tests and uniaxial and biaxial stress-rupture tests on S8DR Hastelloy-N heats were conducted at AI to determine the effect of some of the ORNL test conditions. The tests performed at AI were in parallel to the ORNL control tests. The results showed that the effect of the test condition variations between the two tests were generally insignificant. The effect of the test conditions is discussed.