The impact of DOE's Current Federal Program on the commercialization of hydrothermal resources between 1980 and 2000 is analyzed. The hydrothermal resources of the United States and the types of DOE activities used to stimulate the development of these resources for both electric power and direct heat use are described briefly. The No Federal Program and the Current Federal Program are then described in terms of funding levels and the resultant market penetration estimates through 2000. These market penetration estimates are also compared to other geothermal utilization forecasts. The direct benefits of the Current Federal Program are next presented for electric power and direct heat use applications. An analysis of the external impacts associated with the additional hydrothermal resource development resulting from the Current Federal Program is also provided. Included are environmental effects, national security/balance-of-payments improvements, socioeconomic impacts and materials requirements. A summary of the analysis integrating the direct benefits, external impacts and DOE program costs concludes the report.

This report discusses the Nutrition Title (Title IV) of the pending farm bills and elaborates on the most controversial issues and differences between Senate and House proposals. Policies that are not necessarily controversial but are complex are also included in this report.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since introducing its Next Generation Compliance initiative in fiscal year 2012, EPA has taken four primary steps to increase transparency and accountability in enforcement and compliance. According to EPA documents and officials, these actions will provide greater access to data under EPA-regulated programs and make regulated entities more accountable to the public. In this regard, EPA"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Annuities with guaranteed lifetime withdrawals can help older Americans ensure they do not outlive their assets, but do present some risks to consumers. Two such products, variable annuities with guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefits (VA/GLWB) and contingent deferred annuities (CDA), share a number of features but have some important structural differences. For example, both provide consumers with access to investment assets and the guarantee of lifetime income, but while VA/GLWB assets are held in a separate account of the insurer for the benefit of the annuity purchaser, the assets covered by a CDA are generally held in an investment account owned by the CDA purchaser. Consumers can benefit from these products by having a steady stream of income regardless of how their investment assets perform or how long they live, while at the same time maintaining access to their assets for unexpected or other expenses. VA/GLWBs and CDAs are complex products that present some risks to consumers and require them to make multiple important decisions. For example, consumers might purchase an unsuitable product or make withdrawal decisions that could negatively affect their potential benefits. Several insurers and …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The E-Government Act (E-Gov Act) of 2002 was enacted with the general purpose of promoting better use of the Internet and other information technologies to improve government services for citizens, internal government operations, and opportunities for citizen participation in government. Among other things, the act specifically requires the establishment of the Office of Electronic Government within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to oversee implementation of the act's provisions and mandates a number of specific actions, such as the establishment of interagency committees, completion of several studies, submission of reports with recommendations, issuance of a variety of guidance documents, establishment of new policies, and initiation of pilot projects. Further, the act requires federal agencies to take a number of actions, such as conducting privacy impact assessments, providing public access to agency information, and allowing for electronic access to rulemaking proceedings. OMB has linked several of the act's provisions to ongoing e-government initiatives that it has sponsored. While some deadlines specified in the act have passed, many required actions do not have statutory deadlines or have deadlines that have not yet passed. This report responds to …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As part of a multilayered effort to strengthen port security, the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) of 2002 calls for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to issue a worker identification card that uses biological metrics, such as fingerprints, to control access to secure areas of ports or ships. Charged with the responsibility for developing this card, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), within DHS, initially planned to issue a Transportation Worker Identification Credential in August 2004 to about 6 million maritime workers. GAO assessed what factors limited TSA's ability to meet its August 2004 target date for issuing cards and what challenges remain for TSA to implement the card."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Continued financial challenges and increased competition call for the U.S. Postal Service to manage its 34,000 facilities as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. GAO and others have identified key facility management challenges, including the need to (1) capture and maintain accurate facility data, (2) adequately maintain facilities, and (3) align retail access with customer needs. This report assesses Postal Service efforts to overcome these challenges and implement leading federal practices. To conduct this study, GAO analyzed postal data and documents, visited 58 facilities, and interviewed postal officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2011, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported data meeting its goal to secure the land border with a decrease in apprehensions; our data analysis showed that apprehensions decreased within each southwest border sector and by 68 percent in the Tucson sector from fiscal years 2006 to 2011, due in part to changes in the U.S. economy and achievement of Border Patrol strategic objectives. These data generally mirrored the decrease in estimated known illegal entries across locations. Other data are used by Border Patrol sector management to assess efforts in securing the border against the threat of illegal migration, drug smuggling, and terrorism; and Border Patrol may use these data to assess border security at the national level as the agency transitions to a new strategic plan. Our analysis of these data indicated that in the Tucson sector, there was little change in the percentage of estimated known illegal entrants apprehended by Border Patrol over the past 5 fiscal years, and the percentage of individuals apprehended who repeatedly crossed the border illegally declined across the southwest border by 6 percent from fiscal years …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "FCC has regulatory authority over many complex telecommunications issues. To obtain expert advice on these issues, FCC often calls upon its federal advisory committees, comprised mostly of members from industry, private consulting, advocacy groups, and government. These committees must follow the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), which sets requirements on the formation and operation of such committees. Because of Congressional interest in how FCC receives advice from outside experts, this report provides information on (1) FCC's current advisory committees, (2) the extent to which the committees follow applicable laws, (3) how FCC makes use of the committees' advice, and (4) the non-FACA advisory groups that FCC has established."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) filing season is an enormous undertaking that includes processing tax returns, issuing refunds, and responding to taxpayer questions. IRS's efforts to ensure compliance begin during the filing season. GAO was asked to assess IRS's 2009 filing season performance, identify ways to reduce taxpayers' use of short-term, high-interest refund anticipation loans (RAL) offered by paid preparers or banks, and identify ways to enhance compliance during processing. GAO analyzed IRS performance data, reviewed IRS operations, interviewed IRS officials, and reviewed its compliance programs and relevant statutes."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This report is the fourth in a series responding to a mandate under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). As of November 27, 2009, $69.1 billion, or about one quarter of the approximately $280 billion of total Recovery Act funds for programs administered by states and localities, had been paid out. The largest programs were the Medicaid Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF), and highways. The Government Accountability Office's (GAO) work continues to focus on 16 states and the District of Columbia (District)."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "U. S. energy needs rest heavily on ship-based imports. Tankers bring 55 percent of the nation's crude oil supply, as well as liquefied gases and refined products like jet fuel. This supply chain is potentially vulnerable in many places here and abroad, as borne out by several successful overseas attacks on ships and facilities. GAO's review addressed (1) the types of threats to tankers and the potential consequences of a successful attack, (2) measures taken to protect tankers and challenges federal agencies face in making these actions effective, and (3) plans in place for responding to a successful attack and potential challenges stakeholders face in responding. GAO's review spanned several foreign and domestic ports, and multiple steps to analyze data and gather opinions from agencies and stakeholders."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "An annual average of 6.2 percent of noninstitutionalized children in Medicaid nationwide and 4.8 percent of privately insured children took one or more psychotropic medications, according to GAO's analysis of 2007-2009 data from the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). MEPS data also showed that children in Medicaid took antipsychotic medications (a type of psychotropic medication that can help some children but has a risk of serious side effects) at a relatively low rate--1.3 percent of children--but that the rate for children in Medicaid was over twice the rate for privately insured children, which was 0.5 percent. In addition, MEPS data showed that most children whose emotions or behavior, as reported by their parent or guardian, indicated a potential need for a mental health service did not receive any services within the same year. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and many states have initiatives under way to help ensure that children receive appropriate mental health treatments. However, CMS's ability to monitor children's receipt of mental health services is limited because CMS does not collect information from states …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The school choice provision of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) of 2001 applies to schools that receive Title I funds and that have not met state performance goals for 2 consecutive years, including goals set before the enactment of NCLBA. Students in such schools must be offered the choice to transfer to another school in the district. GAO undertook this review to provide the Congress a report on the first 2 years of the implementation of NCLBA school choice. GAO reviewed (1) the number of Title I schools and students that have been affected nationally, (2) the experiences of selected school districts in implementing choice, and (3) the guidance and technical assistance that Education provided. GAO collected school performance data from all states, interviewed Education officials, and visited 8 school districts in California, Illinois, Ohio, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Washington."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Encouraging a clearer and closer link between budgeting, planning, and performance is essential to improving federal management and instilling a greater focus on results. Through work at various levels within the organization, this report on the Administration for Children and Families (ACF)--and its two companion studies on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (GAO-03-258) and the Veterans Health Administration (GAO-03-10)--records (1) what managers considered successful efforts at creating linkages between planning and performance information to influence resource choices and (2) the challenges managers face in creating these linkages."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the mechanisms of coordination between Medicaid and the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), focusing on: (1) how Medicaid and IDEA interact to meet the needs of low-income school-aged children with disabilities; and (2) issues that have arisen in coordinating Medicaid and IDEA services in schools."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is in the midst of a massive effort to reorganize its structure and modernize its technology. To help with this effort, IRS obtains services through task orders under its Treasury Information Processing Support Services (TIPSS-2) contracting program. In this study, GAO reviewed the 6 largest competitive task orders that IRS awarded between July 1, 2001 and December 31, 2001 to determine if IRS used price or cost as a selection factor in the award of these task orders."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In recent years, the Department of Defense (DOD) has come to rely more heavily on commercial satellite communications to plan and support operations and move toward a network-centric warfare environment. DOD acquires commercial satellite bandwidth services to support a variety of critical missions such as surveillance performed by unmanned aerial vehicles. GAO was asked to assess (1) whether DOD's process for acquiring these services is fair to vendors and providers, (2) whether the process meets users' needs, and (3) whether spending on these services is managed effectively and efficiently."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on alternative land uses that could save water at Fallon Naval Air Station, Nevada, focusing on: (1) the aviation safety and operational requirements for the runway protection zone at Fallon Naval Air Station (NAS); (2) the alternative land use strategies Fallon NAS identified in response to congressional direction and how it evaluated them; and (3) the land use strategies at five military facilities and two commercial airports that operate in similar environments."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the financial operations of the Air Force depot maintenance activity group, focusing on the: (1) Air Force depot maintenance activity group's price increase between fiscal year (FY) 1994 and FY 1999 and the primary reasons for it; (2) activity group's financial losses during FY 1994 through FY 1998 and the primary reasons for them; and (3) Air Force's methods for recovering these losses."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on: (1) how many students with limited English proficiency are being served through targeted and schoolwide Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title I programs; (2) how students with limited English proficiency are being served through targeted and schoolwide Title I programs; (3) how many Title I teachers in schools serving students with limited English proficiency are bilingual or have other specialized training in teaching these students; and (4) what accommodations do states allow for students with limited English proficiency in taking academic assessments, including offering tests in their native language, and to what extent are these students participating in academic assessments."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Encouraging a clearer and closer link between budgeting and planning is essential to improving federal management and instilling a greater focus on results. Through work at various levels within the organization, this report on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)--and its two companion studies on the Administration for Children and Families (GAO-03-09) and the Veterans Health Administration (GAO-03-10)--documents (1) what managers considered successful efforts at creating linkages between planning and performance information to influence resource choices and (2) the challenges managers face in creating these linkages."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Encouraging a clearer and closer link between budgeting and planning is essential to improving federal management and instilling a greater focus on results. Through work at various levels within the organization, this report on the Veterans Health Administration (VHA)--and its two companion studies on the Administration on Children and Families (GAO-03-09) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (GAO-03-258)--documents (1) what managers considered successful efforts at creating linkages between planning and performance information to influence resource choices and (2) the challenges managers face in creating these linkages."

This report, designed for use within the utility community, offers informative descriptions of some of the more relevant organizations engaged in providing information concerned with utility rate regulation. Eighteen information profiles are structured to include the name, address, and telephone number of each of the organizations, and where appropriate, personnel who should be contacted for assistance. A brief synopsis of relevant data indicates type of information and services available to users.