A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. government controls the export of defense-related items to minimize the risk such exports may pose to its interests. The U.S. export control system is primarily divided between two regulatory regimes, one managed by the Department of State for defense items and another managed by the Department of Commerce for dual-use items that have both military and commercial applications. Companies are responsible for determining which department to use and what requirements apply when exporting their items, but can obtain government assistance through two different processes. If companies have determined that their items are Commerce-controlled but are uncertain of export licensing requirements, they may request a classification from Commerce through the commodity classification process. Commerce can refer classification requests to State and the Department of Defense to confirm that the items are Commerce-controlled. However, if companies are unsure of which department has jurisdiction over their items, they can request a determination through the commodity jurisdiction process from State, which consults with Commerce and Defense. In implementing the commodity classification process, Commerce has improperly classified some State-controlled items as Commerce-controlled and has not adhered to regulatory time …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In July 2001 and March 2002, GAO testified on significant breakdowns in internal controls over purchase card transactions at two Navy sites that resulted in fraud, waste, and abuse. As a result, the Congress asked GAO to audit purchase card controls at DOD. This report focuses on Air Force purchase card controls and addresses whether the overall management control environment and key internal controls were effective in preventing potentially fraudulent, improper, and abusive purchase card transactions."

A briefing report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Labor market information is used to help make and assess social and monetary policies, tax and budget projections, and private investment decisions. Produced under cooperative agreements between states and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), labor market information helps provide an up-to-date picture of the U.S. economy and generate closely watched economic indicators, such as unemployment rates and the Gross Domestic Product. In addition, decisions about the distribution of billions of federal dollars to states and local governments depends, in part, on labor market information. In summary, GAO found that (1) funding for the Covered Employment and Wages (ES-202) and Current Employment Statistics (CES) programs declined in real terms over the past 7 years; (2) BLS estimates the funding needs of states by adjusting prior year funding and uses formulas to allocate funds to states; and (3) workload and cost increases outpaced funding increases in the ES-202 program, which could result in data quality problems, according to state Labor Market Information (LMI) officials. BLS estimates LMI budget needs for states by making adjustments to the past year's funding and allocates appropriated funds to states by using …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak), the nation's intercity passenger rail operator, was created by Congress in 1970 after the nation's railroads found passenger service to be unprofitable. It is a private corporation. Its financial situation has never been strong, and it has been on the edge of bankruptcy several times. Early this year, Amtrak stated that federal financial assistance would have to more than double for the corporation to survive. Given Amtrak's worsening financial condition and the potential for intercity passenger rail to play a larger role in the nation's transportation system, there is growing agreement that the mission, funding, and structure of the current approach to providing intercity passenger rail merits reexamination. If Amtrak had been liquidated on December 31, 2001, secured creditors and unsecured creditors--including the federal government and Amtrak employees--and stockholders would have had $44 billion in potential claims against and ownership interests in Amtrak's estate. It is unlikely that secured and unsecured creditors' claims would have been fully satisfied, because Amtrak's assets available to satisfy these claims and interests are old, have little value, or appear unlikely to have a value …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "U.S. air carriers transport billions of tons of cargo each year in both passenger planes and all-cargo planes. Typically, about one-half of the hull of each passenger aircraft is filled with cargo. As a result, any vulnerabilities in the air cargo security system potentially threaten the entire air transport system. GAO agreed to determine the security vulnerabilities that have been identified in the air cargo system, the status of key recommendations that have been made since 1990 to improve air cargo security, and ways in which air cargo security can be improved in the near-and long-term."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Both federal and state governments exercise regulatory authority in many of the same policy areas. In enacting new legislation in these shared areas, Congress must provide federal protections, guarantees, or benefits while preserving an appropriate balance between federal and state regulatory authority and responsibility. State efforts can be directed toward federal or nationally shared regulatory objectives through various arrangements, each of which reflects a way to define and issue regulations or standards and assign responsibility for their implementation or enforcement. Regulatory and standard-setting mechanisms for achieving nationwide coverage include (1) fixed federal standards that preempt all state regulatory action, (2) minimum federal standards that preempt less stringent state laws but permit states to establish more stringent standards, (3) the inclusion of federal regulatory provisions in grants or other forms of assistance, (4) cooperative programs in which voluntary national standards are formulated by federal and state officials working together, and (5) widespread state adoption of voluntary standards formulated by quasi-official entities. The first two of these mechanisms involve preemption; the other three represent alternative approaches. Each represents a different combination of federal and state regulatory authority. The …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Poor oversight and management of the Department of Defense (DOD) travel card program has led to high delinquency rates costing DOD millions in lost rebates and increased ATM fees. As a result, Congress asked GAO to report on (1) the magnitude, impact, and cause of delinquencies, (2) the types of fraudulent and abusive uses of travel cards, and (3) the effectiveness of internal controls over DOD's travel card program. GAO previously reported on travel card management at the Air Force."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO's work has repeatedly shown that mission fragmentation and program overlap are widespread in the federal government. Implementation of federal crosscutting programs is often characterized by numerous individual agency efforts that are implemented with little apparent regard for the presence and efforts of related activities. GAO has in the past offered possible approaches for managing crosscutting programs, and has stated that the Government Performance and Results Act could provide a framework for addressing crosscutting efforts. GAO was asked to examine the actions and plans agencies reported in addressing the crosscutting issues of drug control, family poverty, financial institution regulation, and public health systems. GAO reviewed the fiscal year 2003 performance plans for the major agencies involved in these issues."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Energy (DOE) has 30 major research, development, production, and environmental cleanup sites around the country that account for three-fourths of DOE's over-$20 billion annual budget. DOE manages these sites largely through contractors, which can be either industrial firms or educational institutions. Since fiscal year 1999, DOE's major contractors have spent $6 billion each year on support-related activities. This amount represents 40 percent of the contractors' total annual costs. DOE's management of support-related costs on a departmentwide basis is limited, consisting mainly of the Chief Financial Officer's (CFO) annual analysis, and departmentwide dissemination, of summary data on these costs. The CFO's analysis includes comparing the most recent data with data for previous years, highlighting trends and potential anomalies. At the DOE field and contractor level, virtually all contractors examined during GAO's review have in recent years implemented initiatives to manage certain support-related costs. Some of these initiatives have resulted in millions of dollars in savings reported by the contractor. To achieve these savings, contractors have sometimes set targets for reducing specific types of support-related costs, such as overhead costs."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In recent years, U.S. employers have complained of shortages of workers with higher-level skills in information technology, the sciences, and other fields. To find workers with these skills, employers often turn to foreign workers who enter the United States with H-1B visas to work in specialty occupations. Despite the recent economic downturn, employers report that they continue to need higher-skilled workers. Congress passed the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to create a system connecting employment, education, and training services to better match workers to labor market needs. In 1998, Congress passed legislation raising limits on the number of high-skilled workers entering the United States and imposing a $500 fee on employers--which was later raised to $1000--for each foreign worker for whom they applied. Most of the money collected is to be spent on training that improves the skill of U.S. workers. The National Science Foundation (NSF) receives 22 percent of the funds to distribute as scholarship grants to post-secondary schools that distribute the funds as scholarships for low-income students in computer science, engineering, and mathematics degree programs. The grantees operating skill grant programs use the flexibility …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In a previous report (GAO/AIMD-00-127, May 2000), GAO identified reimbursable project costs that were not being recovered by the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation. In this report, GAO reviewed the Bureau of Reclamation's managerial cost accounting and cost recovery practices. The Bureau does not currently identify and distribute all of the costs it incurs to its specific projects and activities. These costs are not distributed because the Bureau considers them nonreimbursable and because its cost accounting system is used to capture costs related to reimbursable purposes such as irrigation, municipal and industrial (M&I) water supply, and power generation. While GAO recognizes that the Bureau does not have the authority to recover certain costs, such as those funded through the Policy and Administration appropriation, all of the costs should nevertheless be distributed to the relevant activities to provide information useful in managerial decision making. Because not all costs are distributed, information on the full cost of projects and activities is not readily available to the Congress, program managers, and others to facilitate decision making and the allocation of the federal government's resources."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1961, the President has had special statutory authority to order the "drawdown" of defense articles--such as aircraft, vehicles, various weapons, and spare parts--and services or military education and training from Department of Defense (DOD) and military service inventories and transfer them to foreign countries or international organizations. Drawdowns give the President the ability to respond to U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives, such as counternarcotics efforts, peacekeeping needs, and unforeseen military and nonmilitary emergencies, by providing military assistance without first seeking additional legislative authority or appropriations from Congress. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency's reports to Congress on the costs and delivery status of drawdowns are inaccurate and incomplete. Two principal problems contribute to the agency's inability to meet the reporting requirements. First, its information system for recording drawdown data is outmoded and difficult to use--service drawdown reports are in different formats, and any conversion errors have to be manually corrected. Second, the services do not regularly provide updates to the agency on drawdown costs and deliveries, and available information sometimes does not get into the system. Drawdowns benefit the United States and foreign recipients …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO's work has repeatedly shown that mission fragmentation and program overlap are widespread in the federal government. Implementation of federal crosscutting programs is often characterized by numerous individual agency efforts that are implemented with little apparent regard for the presence and efforts of related activities. GAO has in the past offered possible approaches for managing crosscutting programs, and has stated that the Government Performance and Results Act could provide a framework for addressing crosscutting efforts. GAO was asked to examine the actions and plans agencies reported in addressing the crosscutting issues of border control, flood mitigation and insurance, wetlands, and wildland fire management. GAO reviewed the fiscal year 2001 performance reports and fiscal year 2003 performance plans for the major agencies involved in these issues."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "To understand the federal government's response since the September 11 terrorist attacks, GAO was asked to review governmentwide changes and challenges prevalent in the missions and activities of agencies involved in homeland security, including the coordination and collaboration required to meet overall goals and needs, and government's efforts in planning and implementing strategic, transitional, and human capital activities designed to reorganize and strengthen homeland security."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the views of pilots and aircrew members of the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve regarding the Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program (AVIP) of the Department of Defense (DOD). In December 1997, the Secretary of Defense announced a plan to inoculate U.S. forces against the potential battlefield use of anthrax as a biological warfare (BW) agent. In the context of the conventional battlefield, the nature and magnitude of the military BW threat has not changed materially since 1990 in terms of the number of countries suspected of developing BW capability, the types of BW agents they possess, or their ability to weaponize and deliver BW agents. In marked contrast to other mandatory DOD immunization requirements, GAO's sample survey in 2000 showed that AVIP was at that time adversely affecting the retention of trained and experienced guard and reserve pilots and aircrew members. Between September 1998 and September 2000, 16 percent of the pilots and aircrew members of the guard and reserve had (1) transferred to another unit (primarily to nonflying positions to avoid or delay receiving the anthrax shots), (2) moved to inactive status, …

The treatment of Social Security in the federal budget is often confusing. In legislation enacted in 1983, 1985, and 1990, Social Security was excluded from official budget calculations and largely exempted it from congressional procedures for controlling budget revenues and expenditures. However, because Social Security represents more than a fifth of federal revenues and expenditures, it often is included in summaries of the government's financial flows, or what is referred to as the "unified" budget.

This report describes the essential elements of the cryogenic system. The cryogenic distribution system starts at the level of the linac superconducting RF cavities [1] and moves out through the cryogenic piping to the liquid helium refrigeration plant that will be used to cool the RF cavities and the undulator magnets. For this report, the cryogenic distribution system and cryogenic refrigerator includes the following elements: (1) The piping within the linac cryogenic modules will influence the heat transfer through the super-fluid helium from the outer surface of the TESLA niobium cavity and the liquid to gas interface within the horizontal header pipe where the superfluid helium boils. This piping determines the final design of the linac cryogenic module. (2) The acceptable pressure drops determine the supply and return piping dimensions. (3) The helium distribution system is determined by the need to cool down and warm up the various elements in the light source. (4) The size of the cryogenic plant is determined by the heat loads and the probable margin of error on those heat loads. Since the final heat loads are determined by the acceleration gradient in the cavities, a linac with five cryogenic modules will be compared to …

Radioactive waste is scheduled to be retrieved from Hanford double-shell tanks AN-103, AN-104, AN-105 and AW-101 to the vitrification plant beginning about 2009. Retrieval may involve decanting the supernatant liquid and/or mixing the waste with jet pumps. In these four tanks, which contain relatively large volumes of retained gas, both of these operations are expected to induce buoyant displacement gas releases that can potentially raise the tank headspace hydrogen concentration to very near the lower flammability limit. This report describes the theory and detailed physical models for both the supernate decant and jet mixing processes and presents the results from applying the models to these operations in the four tanks. The technical bases for input parameter distributions are elucidated.

This project involved images of Titan, Neptune, and Uranus obtained using the 10-meter W.M. Keck II Telescope and its adaptive optics system. An adaptive optics system corrects for turbulence in the Earth's atmosphere by sampling the wavefront and applying a correction based on the distortion measured for a known source within the same isoplanatic patch as the science target (for example, a point source such as a star). Adaptive optics can achieve a 10-fold increase in resolution over that obtained by images without adaptive optics (for example, Saturn's largest moon Titan is unresolved without adaptive optics but at least 10 resolution elements can be obtained across the disk in Keck adaptive optics images). The adaptive optics correction for atmospheric turbulence is not perfect; a point source is converted to a diffraction-limited core surrounded by a ''halo''. This halo is roughly the size and shape of the uncorrected point spread function one would observe without adaptive optics. In order to enhance the sharpness of the Keck images it is necessary to apply a deconvolution algorithm to the data. Many such deconvolution algorithms exist such as maximum likelihood and maximum entropy. These algorithms suffer to various degrees from noise amplification and creation …

This report includes information regarding Iraq, specifically weapons threat, compliance, sanctions, and U.S. policy. Weapons of mass destruction, human rights, and Iraqi issues with Kuwait are among topics discussed in this report.

The purpose of this discussion is to indicate the threshold values for low-order detonator response by using first principles applied to pin-to-pin configurations and associated limits in pin-to-case scenarios. In addition an attempt to define the electrical environment by first principles is shown to be inadequate and indicates the need to define the electrical insult by reasonable standards. A comparison of two accepted electrical models and a combination of the extreme reported levels from both standards are used to establish an extreme set of parameters for a safety assessment. A simplification of the critical electrical insult parameters is then shown and demonstrated to provide the initial screening protocol with easily defined electrical dimensions of action integral. Action integral and the conductive material properties are the basic parameters needed to define the solid, liquid, and gas phases of the material used for detonator bridge wires. The resulting material phases are directly related to detonator response thresholds. The discussion concludes by showing the ability of ESD insults to arc from pin-to-case, the limited knowledge of the associated arc initiation process, and the modeling need for a reasonable arc resistance in pin-to-case scenarios.

This report is designed as a source of ready reference for congressional offices interested in instances of use of force by the United States against Iraq from the end of the 1990-1991 Gulf war until October 11, 2002.

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This report discusses the class action and proposed reform in the 107th congress, in four different categories: (I) Background, (II) the legislation, (III) Section 1-7 and (IV) Possible Objections.